


Iluso del Alma

by MoonlitNightin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Akemi is Itachi's twin, Akemi just wants everybody to be happy, Baby Sasuke Being Adorable, Canon Relationships, Drama, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Fugaku being freaked out by his second son, Gen, Humor, Partial Self-Insert, Uchiha Itachi Being a Good Brother, Women Being Awesome, but it's hard when his brother is a self-sacrificing fool, in the background - Freeform, spanglish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 71,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23794138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitNightin/pseuds/MoonlitNightin
Summary: To forewarn is to forearm, Akemi knows, but with the massacre around the corner and a morality against killing limiting his options, it's going to take a lot more than warnings to protect his precious people.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi & Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 51
Kudos: 189





	1. Rebirth

Uchiha Akemi entered the world with eyes brighter than dawn's first light. Born one minute fifty-six seconds after his identical twin Itachi, Akemi's first act was to follow his brother, a habit that would persist for years to come.

Fugaku noticed first, how Itachi started crawling only for Akemi to begin crawling four days later. How Itachi babbled his first word and the next morning Akemi stared Mikoto in the eye and gurgled _Kaa-san!_

It was odd how often the two mirrored each other, especially since Fugaku had a sneaking suspicion Akemi was doing it on purpose. His theory springing forth one early morning as he returned home to find the kitchen lights on. Assuming it was his wife tending to their sons, he stepped forward to greet her.

Yet the greeting froze halfway up his throat and fizzled out entirely when he saw not his wife, but Akemi standing in the kitchen near his brother with a baby bottle in hand. Fugaku quickly backed into the shadows of the living room while Akemi began feeding Itachi the bottle and even burped his older brother once he was done. Numbly the man then watched Akemi lug Itachi onto a plush, baby blanket he must have smuggled out of their cradle, grasp all four ends of the cloth, and slide Itachi across the floor with it until they safely returned to their nursery.

After a solid minute the head of the Uchiha clan picked his jaw off the floor and went to bed, telling himself it was just his imagination running rampant after a long day of work.

Still, after that day he kept a closer eye on nine-month old Akemi, if only to prove to himself there was nothing unusual about his second son.

So of course Fugaku only discovered _more_ evidence suggesting his youngest son not only learned to walk and talk, read and write, faster than any normal child, but Akemi most likely _waited_ for Itachi to progress past these developmental milestones before _strategically_ revealing he too could do the same.

Fugaku stopped looking so closely after grasping this, and rather preferred to ignore the possibility entirely because if his theory was correct... Then Akemi was smarter than Itachi—smarter than a _prodigy_.

And that was _terrifying._

Fortunately no one ever confronted Fugaku with Akemi's potential to surpass his twin, for no one else scrutinized the boys so closely, as was proven by the many times clan members would wave to Itachi from afar only to realize the boy was in fact _not_ Akemi as they neared. Itachi asked how they figured it out when both he and Akemi regarded the outside world with the same stoic mask and even-tempered tone.

It was the eyes, they said. Both twins may share the same face, but whereas Itachi's eyes were ebony lakes frozen over winter, emotions buried deep beneath the ice, Akemi's eyes were fire-stoked coals, smothering an inferno.

"There's something _burning_ behind all that calm," Shisui tried to explain once, rubbing the back of his head as his grin turned sheepish. "Whatever Akemi's really feeling is hot enough to burn through stone."

Itachi agreed, having noticed long ago whenever his brother slipped up and emotion peeked through his calm facade there was always some sort of passionate emotion peppering Akemi's gaze. Yet, even Itachi could not discern what said emotion was.

Not until Father took him to a battlefield.

The bodies strewn about like blossoms torn from the earth, leaves crushed, stems gnarled, and petals steeped in _scarlet_ _lakes_.

Itachi had never seen war before, never looked death in the eyes or had another's blood staining the air he breathed. Even hours later death's scent would cling to him like an iron cloak, bruising his shoulders while a dead man's blood crusted under his fingernails.

His sole solace was knowing Akemi had been spared the gruesome sight, his twin having thrown up before breakfast and being bedridden ever since. It was why Itachi now determinedly made his way up to his younger brother's bedroom, a steaming cup of mint tea on a saucer in his hands. He hoped the drink would chase off whatever troubled Akemi's stomach, that his blood-soaked hands could perform one _blameless_ deed tonight.

The shinobi lunging at him suddenly leapt to mind, his wild eyes and arms arched to kill him, to kill a _child_ , making Itachi pause in the doorway.

Fortunately there was little time to dwell on the horrors of war as Father's voice lifted to ask, "What did you say?"

The quiet outrage in Father's tone caught Itachi off guard, but his parent was not looking at him. Itachi peered around the man to see his twin propped up against his bed headboard, still clad in his forest green sleeping yukata. Although, the boy was not resting.

Rather Akemi's eyes were open and frigid, and his lips twisted into a faint scowl as he repeated. "I said," his eyes narrowed, though his tone remained flat, "If you ever hurt my brother like that again, I _will_ ruin you."

Itachi blanched and Father gaped while mild killing intent seeped into the air around them.

Yet Akemi didn't let up on the pressure as he hissed. "You will never hurt Itachi like that again. I won't let you."

However Father intended to reply, which according to the flaming hot chakra building inside the man wouldn't be kind, would forever remain unknown as Itachi purposely scuffed his feet while entering the room.

Father spun back, wary until he noticed the tea in Itachi's hands, his expression losing some of its severity as Itachi bowed his head. "Excuse me, Tou-san. I made a drink to aid Akemi's recovery."

Father's face darkened at the reminder of his younger twin's presence, and his black orbs slid aside to glare at Akemi. "We can discuss this later."

Akemi's mouth opened, retort undoubtedly on his tongue, so Itachi rushed over to his bedside and thrust the tea into his hands. The boy blinked, voice faltering just long enough for Father to exit the room unchallenged.

Itachi sighed in relief. Argument averted.

"What's this, Nii-san?" Akemi's expression opened up as it always did when it was simply the two of them dwelling in the comfort of home, voice calm and steady as if he hadn't just aimed _murderous_ intent towards his own father.

"Oooh," Akemi's eyes sparkled while he appraised the cup's contents. "Is it coffee—"

"You know it isn't."

Akemi pouted, but soon got over it. "A boy can dream." He shrugged and took a sip.

Itachi didn't respond as he pulled himself up onto the bed and leaned against the headboard. Without prompt, Akemi lifted the bed cover and spread it atop their legs. Then he scooted over until their shoulders brushed against each other's.

The eldest didn't complain, privately pleased by the show of intimacy. All the adults in their clan always spoke to him with such stifling reverence, their children no better at spouting out sugar-coated pleasantries, that Itachi had never really forged a meaningful relationship with any of them. Only Akemi treated him like the child he was, and how it soothed Itachi's heart to know he could always be himself around his twin.

Itachi turned forward and his eyes swept over the dozens of papers haphazardly taped across the bedroom walls. The black and white pencil sketches had been crafted by his artsy little brother, images ranging from the portrait of a rosy-cheeked baby tucked in Itachi's arms to a furious clash between lightning and wind at the Valley of the End. If Itachi squinted he thought he could make out two boys amidst the clashing elements, and wasn't the dark-haired one an Uchiha?

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

The guilt-filled whisper jolted Itachi from his thoughts and he turned to see Akemi's head hanging low over the drained cup in his lap, front bangs shadowing his expression.

"I should have stopped Father from taking you, or gone with you, but..." His hand clenched around the tea cup. "I was scared to see the fighting and... _death_ ," shame mingled with self-loathing in his voice, "So I pretended to be sick, and I'm sorry for that, Nii-san."

Itachi's lips parted, a soft gasp escaping him. How did Akemi know what had happened today? Did Father tell him? No... Akemi was speaking as if he known about Father's plans _before_ he carried them out.

Akemi sniffled, and Itachi suddenly noticed the wet sheen over Akemi's eyes. In an instant all wonderings were forgotten because his brother was _hurting_ , and what type of big brother would he be if he let his twin suffer?

"Don't worry," Itachi smiled gently, looping his arm around Akemi's waist. "I'm okay."

It wasn't a lie. Itachi was physically fine.

Akemi raised his head and glared. "No, you're not."

He sounded offended Itachi even attempted to feed him the half-truth. Akemi _knew_ Itachi was not fine, would never be fine until the war ended, until the whole world was cleansed of war.

Itachi looked away, scalded by his brother's all-knowing stare while jagged images of that battlefield broke through his mental barrier until the stench of slaughter and decay permeated the entire room.

Akemi's face softened when Itachi's hands shook, and he put the tea cup aside. "I'm sorry." He tugged Itachi into a full embrace, setting his chin on his shoulder as he whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." _  
_

_Sorry this world is so screwed up. Sorry you lost something you'll never get back today. Sorry I wasn't there when you needed me._

Itachi heard it all in the way Akemi clung to him, his brother's fingers running through the back of his hair and soft breaths warming the skin of his neck.

"From now on, I'll stay by your side no matter what." Akemi pulled back so Itachi could see his earnestness.

Itachi did, peering deep into those dark eyes mirroring his own, and finally grasped what emotion lurked within them.

Protectiveness. A fierce, all-consuming desire to protect. Akemi's eyes were burning with the same passion that now drove Itachi, they always had been.

Itachi grinned a genuine smile this time. "And I'll always be there for you," he vowed.

**.**

Their fifth birthday came and went. Itachi received newly-minted ninja tools and Akemi got the piano he had been asking for years.

He played it at once, wild, lively, _foreign_ tunes springing out from under his hands. All the party attendees observed with raised brows and pursed lips. No one knew when, where or how Akemi learned to play, especially since pianists were scarce in the Land of Fire, as wind and string instruments dominated their music industry.

Father eventually asked, and Akemi looked up smiling. "I practice the piano in my dreams." His forehead scrunched up and head tilted aside in confusion. "Can't you tell?"

The partygoers chuckled, believing him joking, but Itachi saw Akemi's eyes focusing past their father as he spoke, the same way they had when Mother asked Akemi what inspired him to draw so much.

"My dreams show me many things, but once they're over the details can be hard to recall, and I don't want to forget." Akemi's attention never wavered from the sketchbook on the table, pencil streaking across the page in swift, deft strokes. Itachi, sitting across from him, watched his brother's hands, noting how every angle and curve was painstakingly crafted with a delicacy that told Itachi his sketching was not the fruitless hobby Father had deemed it.

Rather Akemi treated his sketching like it was a _necessity_.

Itachi hid his frown behind his high collar while Akemi resumed the upbeat piano piece, his brother's eyes shutting in concentration. Although Itachi doubted Akemi was visualizing music notes in his head. No, he had a feeling Akemi was no longer in the room with them, maybe left the Village entirely.

His brother had fled to a world of his own, the land of his dreams, and this worried Itachi greatly.

For in a land of fire and ash, a _dreamer_ had no place.

**.**

Over a month had passed when Uchiha Sasuke entered the world.

Itachi adored his baby brother from the moment he saw him, quickly adjusting his training schedule to make time for carefully swaddling the baby against his chest and simply basking in the presence of the tiny life during the early hours of dawn.

Mother approved, aware Sasuke was happiest with Itachi, and Father allowed it in the hopes it would enhance Itachi's fledgling sense of responsibility. Akemi, however, didn't seem to care either way.

Itachi's arm dropped to his side in the middle of tossing a shuriken at the target board pinned against a tree.

Itachi couldn't figure out what was going on with Akemi. His once amicable twin had closed himself off not only from Itachi but from the rest of his family too. Beginning in the hospital room when he declined to hold his newborn baby brother and worsening into staunch refusal whenever Itachi offered to share the bundle of joy.

It couldn't have been anything Sasuke had done, the infant having never reacted negatively to Akemi's presence. In fact, Itachi was pretty sure his and Akemi's near identical appearance was a source of confusion and wonder to little Sasuke, the baby's round, onyx eyes always rolling from one twin to the next before he released a curious coo.

"Frown any harder and your face will get stuck that way."

Itachi didn't turn from the target board he'd been staring through and Shisui edged closer, his lips tugging down at the lack of a reaction. "Hey, you okay?"

"Akemi is avoiding Sasuke," Itachi divulged, instantly putting his companion on edge. After all, Itachi was never one to blurt out his feelings.

"I don't understand why," Itachi's mouth sloped down further, "Akemi doesn't mind babies and Sasuke doesn't seem to mind him, so I don't get why Akemi won't go near him."

Shisui's head cocked as he appraised his younger friend and the worry bearing down upon Itachi like a windstorm bowing a sickly tree.

"Hmmm," Shisui inclined his head to observe the wispy, white clouds dotting the golden peach sky above. "Well, I'm no expert in siblings." Itachi regarded him, gaze searching and intense enough to make Shisui a bit nervous. "Buuut I've heard being the middle child is tough." He steeled himself and looked Itachi in the eye. "Because you're not the privileged first and the new kid's just stolen your spot as the baby."

Itachi considered it, and instantly shook his head. "No, Akemi isn't jealous. He—" Itachi recalled the look on Akemi's face whenever Sasuke was presented to him, how startled and twitchy he became. "He's afraid."

"Afraid?" Shisui sounded surprised. "But of what?" he asked rhetorically, taping his cheek while his eyes rolled heavenward.

For a few seconds, both Uchiha drew into themselves. Yet, Shisui soon broke the silence with a heavy sigh.

The eldest Uchiha glared at the grass by his feet and folded his arms. "Maybe he's afraid," he stretched out every word uneasily, "Of being replaced?"

Itachi recoiled at the idea, but Shisui was still speaking. "Maybe he's worried you like Sasuke more than him."

"No!" Itachi shouted loud enough to scare a few birds into flying away.

Quickly pink glazed over his cheeks and Shisui flashed his teeth, clearly amused. "I didn't mean he was right, calm down," he teased.

Itachi sent him a sour look and Shisui chuckled before elaborating. "Akemi might just _think_ you're replacing him."

Itachi hoped that wasn't the case as he wandered home hours later. But if it was? How could he prove to Akemi that it _wasn't_ true? And what if that wasn't Akemi's problem? How was Itachi supposed to solve anything when he wasn't even sure _what_ the problem was?

Itachi sought Mother's advice after dinner. She smiled, drying her hands on the towel hanging over the dish rack before patting his head. "I'm sure Akemi knows you love him."

He asked how she was certain, but his parent's response, "A mother knows her children," left him more baffled than consoled.

Itachi sighed as he laid in bed that night. There was no one else to turn to. He might have taken the issue up with Father, but the man never liked being reminded how strange Akemi could be. And for some reason, every time a clan member pointed out Akemi's oddities a wide-eyed look came upon the man and he started muttering about babies nursing other babies.

Regardless, Itachi was no closer to a solution the following night when Father and him returned home after a day full of training. Akemi had been with them for the first hour, but after he tripped into Itachi for the third time whilst dodging a round of Father's fireballs, it became clear he couldn't keep up with his twin, so Father dismissed the younger Uchiha in favor of fine-tuning his eldest son's technique.

Itachi's guilt had been festering ever since Akemi's gaze dropped to the floor and the younger boy scrabbled home. It wasn't his brother's fault he couldn't keep up, Itachi was blazing through kunai training and ninjutsu practice faster than _everyone_ their age.

Father ushered Itachi up the staircase, mouth open to tell him to wash up before bed when a familiar cry broke the silence. Resignation quickly overtook Father's expression while anticipation overcame Itachi's since he enjoyed any excuse to see his littlest brother.

However, Itachi only got halfway up the steps before the creak of a door and quick patter of feet rushed into Sasuke's room above. He thought it was Mother until a young male voice asked, "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

Father stiffened and Itachi's eyes grew wide. Akemi was the _last_ person they expected to come to Sasuke's aid, and yet those were definitely his younger brother's feet padding out the nursery and heading towards his own room down the hall.

Itachi moved to follow, determined to observe this new development, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him three feet away from Akemi's door. Itachi glanced behind only to see Father's eyes locking on the scene ahead where they could just barely make out Akemi with his back to them and Sasuke fussing in his arms as the boy seated himself on the bench before his piano.

"Mother changed you an hour ago," Akemi's free hand lowered a baby bottle onto the bench beside his self, his brother apparently having stored some formula in his room. "And you're not drinking so...just can't sleep?"

Sasuke's wails rose a notch as if to agree.

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Akemi shifted, arm stretching out so his fingers could brush over a string of piano keys.

Sasuke's breath hitched, delaying his next cry.

"Oh, did you like that?" Akemi gently rocked him. "How about this then?"

Itachi barely suppressed a gasp when Akemi tentatively began a quiet melody, soft notes bobbing and ebbing like ocean waves extending and contracting upon a sunlit shore. Then gradually increasing in speed and intricacy once Sasuke's cries had diminished into whimpers, the higher pitched chords weaving with the somber chorus so the tune swayed from forte to decrescendos on a whim.

Itachi didn't even notice the minutes passing until the melody hushed and a full beat of silence reigned between every key, time regaining its natural tempo as the song concluded on a high note that trilled in the air even after Akemi removed his fingers from the piano.

Sasuke was laughing, Itachi suddenly realized. Soft, bubbly laughter was rising from the little infant in Akemi's arms as the boy asked, "Did you like that, Sasuke?"

The baby gurgled cheerfully and Akemi's smile shone through his voice, though his next words were unintelligible to Itachi _. "Eso es bueno_ , _porque_ I got this piano with you in mind." His voice suddenly quieted as if he was revealing a highly-guarded secret. "See, we're family now, and family is important." Akemi paused. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Itachi pictured the determination lining Akemi's face. "I'll always look out for you because you're my brother, my _hermanito_ , and I-I don't know if I can be as good as Itachi, he's kind of the gold standard for older brothers, questionable future choices aside."

Akemi muttered under his breath before resuming. "But I'll try, otouto, I'll try. Things are going to be better for you this time around, I promise." Tenderly Akemi brought Sasuke up to his face and pulled him into a light hug.

Itachi's eyes moistened at the sight of his baby brother's droopy eyes and rosy cheeks free of tear stains as his head rested on Akemi's shoulder.

Mother had been right and Itachi never been so happy to have Shisui be wrong. Akemi wasn't scared of being replaced, he simply been _worried_ he wouldn't make a good big brother.

For the first time it struck Itachi that Akemi was new to the role of a big brother, unlike himself who had practically been born an older sibling.

"That boy certainly has a will of his own."

Itachi turned back, but in the darkness, could not make out his father's expression. Still, once he and Father had stealthily departed to their respective rooms, Itachi was certain he heard a bit of pride color Father's tone.

**.**

Itachi came to a sudden realization the night the sealing master was set to come. It began yesterday when Akemi ran into the living room shouting about rats under his bed. Upon further inspection, it seemed the whole house had been infested by the vile rodents.

"I don't understand, the seals are supposed to prevent this type of infestation," Father said, scratching his neck and crouching as he peeled back the living room rug to examine the seal beneath it.

"I don't care how it happened," Mother, unusually severe, hitched Sasuke higher in her arms as if a rat might reach him if he were set any lower. "Sasuke is too young to fight off any type of infection, a rat bite could _kill_ him." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "We won't be staying here tonight."

Father hadn't argued, just hurried away to call for a moving crew and seal master.

The next morning Itachi and the rest of his family returned from their aunt and uncle's place to help the movers pack up all their furniture, since it would be easier to paint new seals around the house without their furnishings getting in the way.

Mother insisted they only needed to send the big stuff to the storage warehouse, but Akemi was adamant they not leave anything behind lest they risk it being contaminated by the rats.

He pointedly stared at the baby in Mother's arms until she conceded.

Three hours later Itachi, having less belongings than Akemi, finished packing his room first so offered a helping hand to his twin. Soon after he was stacking Akemi's sketches in a plastic bin, his vision eclipsed by the images on the papers, always so in awe was he of the artist's attention to detail.

However, while Itachi was putting away the last of the sketches, he happened to glimpse the picture of himself sitting on their house porch with a rosy-cheeked baby in his arms. It was still his favorite drawing since it was one of Akemi's serenest depictions, but for some reason it resonated with him unusually strong today.

Itachi dismissed the feeling, and didn't think of it again until later that night when Mother realized she'd mistakenly packed away Sasuke's favorite squeaky toy. The woman then handed Sasuke to him with the instruction to await the seal master's arrival at their house and show the man in before rushing off to the storage facility. Itachi thus situated himself on the house porch alone, as Akemi was away tending to his weekly custom of challenging the Nara clan head to a shogi match.

Now as Itachi rocked Sasuke to sleep, the older boy found himself examining the close-eyed smile dimpling the baby's rosy cheeks, only to be struck by the feeling he seen Sasuke look just like this before.

Akemi's drawing flashed in his mind, and Itachi's brow knitted together. What a strange coincidence for Akemi to draw Itachi holding Sasuke on a porch much like he was doing now.

It took Itachi three seconds to realize Akemi had not drawn that picture months ago when Sasuke was born.

Akemi had drawn that picture two _years_ ago.

Itachi froze, eyes wide and round, as the memories came crashing in.

_"I think Mom is sick."_

Akemi turned to Itachi from his seat in the hospital lobby, the plastic chair beneath him squeaking with the motion.

"No, she's not." Neither Akemi's tone nor expression shifted from their placidity.

Itachi frowned, a little hurt his concern had been so quickly dismissed. "But I heard her throw up yesterday, and she threw up again this morning."

Slowly Akemi's neutral expression lightened into a fond smile, an all-too-knowing glint in his eyes. "Don't worry, Nii-san. Mother is having a baby and sometimes women having babies throw up in the morning."

Itachi had blinked wide, moon-sized eyes, so awed by the news he was getting another sibling that he never questioned how Akemi knew Mother was having a baby. Especially since she wouldn't tell them until _after_ they left the hospital.

_"This is my friend, Shisui."_

Akemi's hand tightened in Itachi's as he zeroed in on Shisui grinning and standing in the forest clearing. However, the smile dropped and Itachi's excitement hastened into concern when Akemi paled, his dark orbs drowning under a torrent of despair. Yet, before either boy could comment, Akemi's grip eased and the sadness slid behind a mask of apathy.

"Hello, Shisui-san." Akemi nodded slightly in greeting, his smile tight. "Are you busy right now?" His lips eased into a line while he pulled out a camera from the satchel slung over his chest. "Would you mind if I take your picture?"

Shisui blinked twice, raising a brow. "Why? You making a collage or something?"

"No, I'm just trying to prove to the Council that the Uchiha clan is suffering from severe inbreeding."

Shisui nearly fell back in shock, but Itachi caught his shoulder and steadied him while Akemi bowled on with a little frustration in his tone. "You have a disturbing resemblance to your ancestor Kagami, so I think showing your picture alongside a portrait of him will strengthen my argument that the clan needs to start integrating outsiders fast." A haunted look deepened and emphasized the tear troughs on Akemi's face as he warned. "Otherwise the next batch of Uchiha will be a bunch of homogeneous freaks."

Shisui eventually recovered enough to let Akemi snap a photo of him, and bid the boy goodbye as the five-year old trotted off in search of further evidence.

"Your brother is," Shisui ran his hand through his hair, "Not what I expected."

Itachi hummed, simply glad his friend had the tact not to mention Akemi's weirdness.

Shisui crossed his arms, expression suddenly perturbed. "Will he be alright?"

Itachi knew Shisui was referring to that look on Akemi's face, the despair and horror too strong for him to completely hide upon meeting Shisui, and now that Itachi thought of it, hadn't there been _recognition_ there too?

_"I-I don't know if I can be as good as Itachi."_

The words Itachi hadn't payed close enough attention to the night Akemi accepted Sasuke into the family. _  
_

"He's kind of the gold standard for older brothers."

Did they mean...could Akemi really...

"Questionable future choices aside."

Could Akemi see the _future_? _  
_

Itachi's heart thumped hard against his ribcage, a foreign sensation outside of his shinobi training sessions and therefore only increased his discomfort, which was steadily turning into alarm.

It was impossible. Uchiha weren't psychic, regardless of what outsiders thought, their Kekkei Genkai did _not_ allow them to see the future. And even if it did, Akemi didn't have the Sharingan anyway.

A cold sweat broke out on Itachi's forehead, the boy oblivious to the strong gust of wind billowing through his hair as the moon shined down and bleached him ashen white.

He needed to find Akemi, ask him what was going on. Or maybe continue investigating, go through all of Akemi's sketches and see if any more of them matched up with real events—

Sasuke whimpered, little body writhing while his face scrunched up in his sleep. Itachi's thoughts came to a full stop as he finally noticed the atmosphere had grown thick and heavy. Like an electrical fence suddenly erected around them, a voice in the back of his head was screaming _danger danger_!

Itachi leapt to his feet right as the fiercest wind blew past and the world descended into chaos as the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha.

**.**

Aurelio had stumbled into his college dorm an hour after his final physiology exam. His head was pounding, unsurprising considering how many nights he lost editing final research papers. Therefore, he wasn't thinking much beyond how he could go for a venti caramel frappe' before downing a couple of ibuprofen pills and passing out on his bed.

When Aurelio opened his eyes to see giants standing over him blabbing in rapid Japanese, he figured he was dreaming.

When he realized he was in a baby's body and the pink-faced babe next to him in the crib was called _Uchiha_ _Itachi_ he became certain it was a dream.

Then the dream lasted five days and he started having doubts.

Then the dream lasted a whole week and he started to worry.

When the dream lasted an entire month, he screamed into his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

Upon waking the next morning, Aurelio now Akemi spent the whole day thinking.

He was fairly certain he hadn't died. Aurelio had been in good health, only recently turned twenty-two, and was pretty sure final exams couldn't actually kill college students.

So what _had_ happened to him?

This wasn't a dream, reincarnation wasn't at play, and he doubted this was a hallucination, so _what gives_?

When no answer was forthcoming by nightfall, Akemi decided it didn't matter why or how he was here. Fact was, he was here. For an unforeseen amount of time, Akemi was ~~cursed~~ blessed to live as an anime character with a yawning lifespan of thirteen years. Oh! And the cute little tyke cooing in the crib beside him was probably going to be the death of him.

Literally.

...

...

No.

_No._

Nope, _nunca_ , not happening! Akemi Uchiha—No, Aurelio Giovanni Sanchez-Yanez was _not_ just going to roll over and die.

For goodness' sake, he was barely twenty-two! And even if he would be thirty-five by the time of the Uchiha massacre that was still far too young to die so screw letting Itachi or anybody just kill him off like some pointless background character, and was it wrong he was already considering himself a _fictional_ _character_? Regardless, Akemi didn't want to die.

So he wasn't going to.

Akemi turned to the doe-eyed baby lying beside him, Itachi's long lashes fluttering as he yawned, and Akemi's heart melted and burned when he recognized he didn't want Itachi to die either. Certainly, a part of it had to do with Itachi being his favorite _Naruto_ character and him maybe shedding a tear or two ~~outright bawling~~ when Itachi died, but mainly Akemi couldn't just stand back and watch people suffer. It was why he had been taking psychology courses at the university, Akemi wanted to save lives or at least ease people's suffering.

Akemi raised and stretched his weak, too pale arm. Itachi watched silently as his hand landed atop his head. " _Familia es muy importante_ , that's what my parents have been telling me since I was little," he gently ruffled Itachi's downy hair, "So now that you're family, I'm going to take care of you... _Hermano_."

After that night, Akemi rarely dwelled on his past or speculated what happened to his original self.

There was just no point pondering uncertainties when the workload was great and time ever-dwindling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Iluso del Alma" directly translates to "Dreamer of the Soul," but I prefer to translate it as "Soul Dreamer".
> 
> "Aurelio" means "Golden" in Spanish and "Akemi" means "Beauty of dawn" in Japanese, so both of Akemi's names refer to the color of the early morning sky.
> 
> Please feel free to comment, and I hoped you enjoyed the read!


	2. Resettlement

Gray wisps stirred around swollen, black clouds in the sky above ten-year old Uchiha Obito.

The dock's wooden platform creaked while the preteen adjusted his footing, performed the necessary hand signs, and puffed up his cheeks before unleashing a stream of fire across the lake.

He didn't stop, even as he felt the air thinning in his lungs and embers lashing at his tongue. The Chunin Exams were _tomorrow_ , so his fireball needed to be in top form if he wanted to stand a chance against the other participants.

And if his flashy fireball _happened_ to impress Rin, that would be a _totally unintentional_ bonus.

The flaming maelstrom gradually dispersed until only tendrils of smoke passed Obito's lips and the boy dropped to one knee, huffing and puffing with sweat racing down his face. He was beaming despite it all, for that had been his strongest fireball yet, and when Rin saw it she would be so amazed she'd forget all about Bakakashi!

...Not that that was the point... _  
_

_SPLASH!_

Obito blinked as water arched through the air, drizzling over his toes while long ripples extended across the lake from over a dozen feet away.

"Huh?" Obito stood, head cocking. Was someone skipping stones out here?

He pushed up his googles to rest over his forehead while surveying the shoreline. Yet, there wasn't a soul in sight. He stretched out his chakra, and still picked up nothing.

Obito folded his arms and shut his eyes. Maybe it had just been a fish, for who else would be out here when the sky was threatening to pour any min—

A child's wail and their desperate gulping of air chilled Obito to the bone as his head whipped up just in time to glimpse a tiny hand flailing above the dark waters before sinking beneath the surface.

Obito didn't think before diving in.

**.**

Itachi found his father among the chaos standing beside two fellow Police Force members, but didn't give him a chance to speak as he rushed. "I can't find Akemi."

The panic bleeding through his tone shocked Fugaku into momentary inaction, the man having never seen such naked fear on his son's face. Yet, the clan head hid his concern well as he said, "Akemi is alright. I know he is, like I knew you would be."

The panic remained on Itachi's face, the boy's chest rising and falling unnaturally while his cheeks flushed with exertion.

Fugaku frowned, worry mounting. "Get to the shelter quickly." He turned aside. "Your priority is protecting Sasuke. Let me handle finding Akemi."

The man was certain he correctly anticipated and curbed Itachi's desire to run off in search of his twin when his son's lips pressed together and mild reluctance overshadowed the terror in his eyes. However, the boy's gaze fell on the sniffling baby in his arms and soon all traces of reluctance fled him.

"Hai, Tou-san."

With steely-resolve, Itachi turned and sprinted after the group of fleeing civilians. His eyes leaping from one boy to the next in the crowd and heart skipping a beat every time he glimpsed raven orbs beneath strands of black hair. Yet, his mood sunk faster than a capsizing ship once he climbed the steps to the cave shelter and found no sign of Akemi among the throngs of people huddling inside.

He almost ran back out, longing to see his missing sibling safe, but knew a rash search in this havoc would only put himself and Sasuke at risk. So Itachi hunkered down in the cave, clutched his baby brother close, and held tight to the faith his father expressed in Akemi's wellbeing.

Izumi found him in the darkness, her clammy hand seizing his shirt corner like it was her lifeboat amidst a turbulent sea while Sasuke wailed at the top of his lungs.

Itachi barely noticed as he watched the cave entrance unblinkingly, waiting for his twin to stride through the door with that crinkled-eye smile before Akemi would teasingly ask, "Were you worried, Nii-san?"

Itachi waited minute after minute, hour after hour after hour...

He never came.

**.**

When Obito showed up twenty minutes late to practice, Rin was the first to turn to him with an exasperated sigh and a pointer finger raised to lecture, only to lose all color and gasp upon seeing Obito's drenched state and the shivering toddler in his arms.

"Obito!" Rin cried, and Kakashi's head snapped back, the boy originally intending to ignore Obito's arrival until he registered the _fear_ in Rin's voice.

Kakashi's lazy gaze sharpened then widened at the sight of his Uchiha teammate while Rin ran over to the thoroughly soaked boy.

"What happened?!" She hovered over the shivering pair, her hands aglow with healing chakra and eyes darting from Obito to the dark-haired toddler in his arms, uncertain who to help first.

Obito made the decision for her, holding out the whimpering toddler, which she hurriedly accepted into her arms. Although she grimaced when the child's frigid body nipped her skin, Rin hastily whispered words of comfort to the babe as Obito, face drawn and chest heaving, explained through chittering teeth.

"I saw him d-drowning in the lake, g-got him out, but he was crying so hard he c-couldn't tell me where he lived. I b-brought him with me, h-hoped sensei could help him." His eyes skimmed over the training field, but seeing no sign of his teacher, Obito frowned. "Where's sensei?"

"He's late too." Kakashi offered, making Obito jump as his voice came from right beside him.

"D-don't sneak up like that, baka!" Obito clenched his teeth to lessen his stutter, loathing the tremors raking his body and the way his hair drooped in unruly chunks atop his goggles. He just _knew_ Kakashi was going to make fun of him for showing up like a drowned rat, so made sure to glare extra viciously at the silver-haired boy.

However, Kakashi wasn't paying attention to him, his gaze locked on the shivering toddler curled against Rin's chest, the girl having already removed the child's onesie in search of injuries.

"He's not hurt." The green glow faded from Rin's hands, though her expression remained pinched. "But he might get hypothermia if we don't warm him up soon." Before she even finished speaking, Rin was tearing off her apron-skirt, and suddenly Obito wasn't cold so much as _very warm_.

"Idiot, show some respect," Kakashi hissed, snatching Obito's shoulder and forcibly turning the boy away while Rin wrapped the toddler in her skirt, leaving herself in only shape-defining shorts.

Obito wanted to scream—he was so not ogling Rin!—but his rival's expression stopped him. Kakashi's eyes were narrowed, and his forehead creasing the longer his hand lingered on Obito's shoulder.

"You're freezing," the Hatake boy muttered, softness rounding out his usual barbed tone and leaving Obito mute with shock until Kakashi looked him in the eye and ordered. "Take off your shirt."

Obito gaped, his eyes bigger than plates. "W-what the hel-"

"Obito!"

The Uchiha jerked around to see Rin glaring at him with a hand on her hip. "We do not use that language around children!" She gestured to the quiet toddler in her hold, the top of the boy's face poking out from the skirt he was swathed in to stare at Obito.

The preteen might have noticed the analytical slant to the toddler's gaze if he wasn't so busy waving his finger at Kakashi, shouting. "It's not my fault! Bakakashi is being creepy!" His hand dropped while he side-eyed the masked boy, taking an exaggerated step back from him.

Kakashi's face hardened in response, breeze rippling through his hair, but he said nothing as Rin agreed. "He's right, you need to take off your shirt."

Obito choked.

"And the rest of your clothes."

Obito nearly swooned.

"Otherwise you could get hypothermia too."

Obito froze mid-flail. Then, slowly lowering his arms, he exhaled. "O-oh." His cheeks warmed, half from embarrassment and half from the fuzzy feelings drawn out by the fact Rin cared about him...that Kakashi cared too.

His dark orbs landed on his rival, and maybe some of his fuzzy feelings showed because the silver-haired boy rolled his eyes and turned his back on the Uchiha.

Barely honoring Obito with a backwards glance, Kakashi explained. "If you get sick, you'll drag us down during the exam... More than usual anyway."

All feelings of gratitude shattered, and Obito's hands clenched. He nearly let Kakashi have it when a soppy, baby blue onesie struck Kakashi's shoulder with an audible plop.

In stunned silence the trio watched the wet bundle roll down the boy's arm, leaving a wet trail on his sleeve. Kakashi caught the onesie before it hit the ground, then quirked an eyebrow at the thrower of said item, which was the currently giggling toddler.

"Baka." The baby pointed directly at the masked boy. "Bakakashi!"

For a moment Kakashi just stared, but when snickers erupted from Obito he quickly glowered. Though he only glared at the baby for a second before swiveling towards Obito, demanding, "What have you been teaching your cousin?"

Obito, bent over and clutching his middle, in a flash straightened up to glare back at his teammate. "What are you talking about? I don't have any cousins!"

Kakashi gave him a look that said he knew amoeba with larger brain cells than him. "I mean _him_." He nodded towards the toddler. "He's an Uchiha, isn't he?"

"What makes you say that?" Obito growled, getting in Kakashi's face.

"Guys—" Rin held up a hand to ward off the impending argument, to no avail.

"He has dark hair, black eyes, and it sounds like the lake you found him in was the one on the private Uchiha training grounds."

Kakashi's placid listing of the information came off as arrogance grating on Obito's nerves, especially when he noticed Rin looking impressed, so despite some part of him silently admitting, _I thought the kid was an Uchiha too_ , he yelled. "Don't be stupid! Not every Uchiha has dark hair and-"

"Rin!"

They all jumped, Kakashi's hands flying to his weapon's pouch while Rin angled her body to shield the toddler from the speaker. However, they all relaxed upon catching sight of familiar blond hair and ocean blue eyes.

"You found him!" Minato ran over to the trio, skidding to a stop in front of the toddler who greeted him with a tired grin.

Their sensei didn't smile back, simply continued to stare slack-jawed at the boy until Obito drawled. "Uhh...what about him?"

Minato shook his head and his expression tampered to mild surprise. "He's Uchiha Akemi," Obito's face lit up with recognition, "One of the clan heirs. He went missing an hour ago." Minato's eyes shone with sympathy. "His parents found his footprints leading to a lake, and when they couldn't find him on the docks, they started to fear the worst."

He reached out and Rin obligingly handed over the toddler who mumbled drowsily as the man cradled him. "That's why I was late, everyone was called in and asked to be on the lookout for this little guy."

"Well, don't thank me." Rin laced her hands behind her back, grinning and nodding towards her teammate. "It was Obito who saved Akemi from drowning."

Obito blushed while Minato looked surprised before beaming at the boy. "Good job, Obito! I'll be sure to tell the clan head who he can thank for saving his son." He turned to the child slumbering in his grasp and his lips firmed into a line. "Let's put training on hold for an hour. While I get Akemi back to his parents you guys can—" He suddenly noticed Obito's dripping hair, Kakashi's damp arm and Rin's missing skirt. "Caaan freshen up at home before returning here."

Their instructor waited to hear their agreement before taking off. Rin left right after with a cheery farewell, and Obito expected Kakashi to slink off while he was waving her goodbye, so got a good scare when the silver-haired turned out to still be next to him.

Before Obito could figure out how to react, Kakashi tossed the wet onesie to him, which the Uchiha scrambled to catch. "You can give that back to your cousin." Kakashi moved to leave, but suddenly stopped and gave Obito a critical look. "Did your clothes dry?"

"Huh?" Obito glanced down at himself, and was taken aback by the lack of damp spots on his person. "Oh," he shrugged, "Guess the wind dried it." He suddenly smirked at his rival, and pointing his thumb towards himself, gloated. "Ha! Bet _you_ never saved a clan heir, huh, Bakakashi?"

He sprinted away without waiting for a response, and therefore, never saw the lack of a reaction his rival had.

Alone, the boy's masked face angled up towards the overcast sky, and in a quiet mummer, he noted. "But it's not windy."

Kakashi stood there another minute before departing home, never putting together that the wind stopped blowing the second Minato took Akemi away or how the breeze had centered around Obito. And no one realized that the toddler fell asleep because he expended all his chakra drying Obito off with a basic wind jutsu. **  
**

**.**

The attack ended. The civilians were released from the shelters. Izumi unclasped her death grip on Itachi's shirt, muttering words of gratitude and wandering off while Sasuke slept on soundlessly after crying himself to sleep.

Itachi noticed none of this.

He didn't see the splintered wood and shattered glass where stores and homes once stood. He didn't see the haggard people trudging the same path, crying out for loved ones and receiving silence in return. He didn't feel the rubble under his feet or the heat wafting off the earth, souring the air and leaving bitterness on his tongue. Itachi didn't even notice his mother until he was engulfed in her arms, his head pillowed on her stomach while her relieved tears fell upon his head like rain.

His mother pulled herself together quickly, moving back and setting her hands on his shoulders, asking, "Are you okay, Itachi? Is Sasuke alright?" She crouched to better exam her children, frowning when she noticed the dazed look on her eldest's face. "Itachi?" She cupped his cheek with one hand, gently tilting his face until his eyes met hers. "Itachi?"

Her worry skirted across the surface of the boy's mind, and the five-year old slowly dragged himself out of his trance to rasp. "Where..." He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried again. "Where is my brother?"

Mikoto's face washed itself clean of emotion, and an iron ball of dread settled in Itachi's gut. Mother only ever looked so unemotional when she was feeling the exact opposite.

"Kaa-san?" Itachi's voice cracked as Mikoto stood, her face inscrutable.

"He's alive." She slipped Itachi's hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly, but her words lodged something cold and sharp through his heart.

For they only confirmed Akemi _survived_ , not that he was _safe_ , and even at the tender age of five Itachi knew one could survive plenty of horrendous things and live.

His mother tugged him forward, and Itachi, dreading, followed.

**.**

The drowning incident was forgotten in the wake of his failing the Chunin Exams. Obito throwing himself into training so fast and hard he forgot about all else until Rin or Minato pulled him away for a mission or team exercises. Kakashi's cool gaze, and the challenging smirk Obito imagined beneath his mask every time they met on the training field, was a sight that only pushed Obito to train all the more harder.

So he threw shuriken at the wood posts until they hit dead center, performed pull-up after pull-up and practiced chakra control while standing on the underside of a tree branch, and soon lost track of the amount of burns he sustained whilst maximizing his fire jutsu.

Yet Obito couldn't stop. He needed to be better, needed to surpass Kakashi if ever wanted to achieve his dream.

Thus relentlessly he trained, never noticing he had a little follower until the day he was a bit too zealous with his chakra usage and collapsed, kicking up leaves as his body hit the forest floor and the world turned black.

When he woke up, he wasn't sprawled on his side or sore like he expected. Instead, Obito was propped against a tree, his jacket draped over his shoulders like a blanket and a small campfire flickering before him.

"What...?" Obito straightened, jacket falling into his lap while his head swung side-to-side. How did he get over here? Where'd this fire come from? And how long was he out?

The crescent moon in the sky, its silver threads shimmering between the tree branches, told him he had slept for at least an hour, but didn't answer any of his other questions.

Obito clambered to his feet, and cupping his hands over his mouth, he bellowed. "Hellooo? Is anyone out here?"

He lowered his hands and awaited a response.

There was none save for a hawk's distant caw.

"Hmm," Obito crossed his arms and closed his eyes, grumbling as he struggled to stretch out his chakra in search of his mysterious helper.

"You shouldn't use chakra so soon."

"Ahh!" Obito jumped and backpedaled, his foot catching on a weed and sending him tumbling onto his back.

The orange-clad Uchiha groaned while a childish voice above him muttered. "Told you so."

Head swimming, Obito silently agreed that using chakra so soon after fainting from chakra exhaustion might have been a bad idea.

"Are you okay?" the murky shadow perched on a low tree branch above him asked, and Obito shook his head until the shadow solidified into a familiar dark-haired child.

"Hey..." The preteen squinted, gingerly pushing himself into a sitting position while the toddler observed. "Aren't you that kid I saved..." He struggled to dredge up the boy's name, recalling his grandmother once gushing over how cute the clan head's sons were, but unable to remember her saying their names.

Realizing he was getting nowhere, Obito forced a laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe...so what are you doing up there?" he asked to prevent the toddler from noticing he couldn't think of his name.

The child grinned, and pumping his arm in the air, announced. "Shugyō!"

Obito's brows rose. "Training?" he repeated in shock, leaning back on his palms. Was it normal for a toddler to be training by himself? Obito certainly hadn't started so young, but then again, Obito didn't have parents to teach him in preparation for the Academy. Also, the boy was a clan heir, which meant he was expected to be better than the average Uchiha his age, so maybe it was normal.

The toddler, perhaps tired of being ignored, suddenly sprung off the branch and plummeted to the earth.

"Gah!" Obito lurched up like a rocket and just managed to catch the giggling child a foot over the dirt floor.

"Nice reflexes!" The toddler clapped his hands as if Obito had put on a particularly entertaining show, and breathless from shock, the preteen didn't immediately react, but soon found the energy to scowl.

"Hey, hey, are you crazy? You could have hurt yourself!" He glared at the brat who he could swear was smirking at him, which was a strange sight on such a youthful face. Weren't toddlers supposed to be more oblivious than this?

The child flashed his teeth and whipped out his pointer finger right in front of Obito's face. "Nu-uh! Obito will always protect Akemi." The goggled Uchiha gasped, pupils dilating while the boy—Akemi's words resonated in his head. "I wanna be like Obito-sama, wanna protect people too!" The child stared at Obito like he was daring the preteen to disagree as he lowered his hand.

"Y-you..." Obito's lips flapped open and close while the oxygen ceased flowing in his lungs because...because... Obito had a fan!

Dazed, Obito whispered. "You really mean that?"

"Mhm!" Akemi nodded, face alight with determination. "Let's train hard, Obito-sama!"

The child grinned brilliantly, and hopefully didn't notice Obito tearing up as his fist punched the sky while he shouted. "Hai!"

The firelight reflected in their eyes, tinging their irises gold as a bond sparked between them, twining them eternally.

**.**

It was chakra exhaustion, the doctors explained. Akemi had suffered _severe_ chakra exhaustion.

Itachi tentatively entered the hospital room, taking in the barren walls and gray wires hooked up to a heart monitor, the machine connected to the slight figure drowning in the white hospital sheets on the bed.

Itachi had seen this before, seen children buried in white. Baby fat still rounding their cheeks and tiny hands seeking another's to hold.

All of them dead.

All of them _gone_.

Itachi swallowed thickly, but still couldn't breathe as he approached the bedside.

"I lent him some of my chakra when I woke up... If I hadn't, Akemi would have..." Sarutobi Biwako spoke to his mother in a whisper down the hall, unaware Itachi's keen ears were picking up most of their exchange.

Itachi did his best to block them out as he stood on his tiptoes until he could see his brother's face.

Akemi looked exhausted, dark smudges circling his eyes and a frown curving his lips as he slept. Besides that his twin almost looked peaceful, not stiff and silent like those children in the grave, but tense and quiet like that of a boy so sapped of energy even in his sleep he found no peace.

Yet, better that than _dead_.

Itachi crawled onto the bed and curled around his brother. He latched onto his wrist, rested their joined hands on Akemi's stomach and laid his head on his brother's chest. His twin inhaled, torso elevating Itachi's head with the motion and lowering it as he exhaled. The cycle repeated while Itachi checked Akemi's pulse along his wrist, and listened carefully to the heart beating beneath his ear.

_Not dead. Not dead. I'm not dead, Nii-san._

Akemi's every breath told Itachi, and the eldest whispered back. "You can't die, Akemi. You can't _ever_ die, understand?"

Itachi didn't expect a reply to such a lofty request, and didn't care for one either. Just as long as air filled Akemi's lungs and Itachi never had to bury him in white, that was promise enough.

**.**

Obito didn't see Akemi often while the months turned to years and the toddler came to be a proper shinobi-in-training. Although, maybe that was what made the moments they did share so memorable. Their final time together playing frequently in his mind, having been forged when Obito had recently turned thirteen.

He'd just arrived to the training grounds, but didn't get to set a single foot on the grass before Kakashi was staring him down with gray eyes a steely silver and teeth gritted so hard Obito saw their indentation through his mask.

" _You_ ," Kakashi hissed, and Obito couldn't stop the squeak from escaping him as he leaned back from his teammate.

"Y-yeah?" Obito gulped when Kakashi leaked enough killing intent to make his legs shake and forehead perspire. Unfortunately they were alone, for once Obito not only arriving on time but arriving early.

And now he would pay for his crime against the natural order of things with his _blood_ according to Kakashi's raging chakra.

"I don't know what game you're playing." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, and for once, Obito found not being able to see his full expression downright terrifying. "But it ends now."

"G-game?"

Obito was truly bewildered, but Kakashi ignored him and growled. "You will stop dropping your cousin off at my place during all hours of the night, you will teach the brat that sharing is _not_ always caring, and you will get. him. off. me. _now_."

Obito was nodding so fervently to every demand, despite not understanding any of them, he didn't see the dark-haired boy coiled around Kakashi's arm like a snake until the masked boy held out the limb. Even then it took Obito a second to convince his body it was safe to move without having the Hatake dismember him.

"S-sorry, Kakashi," Obito breathed a bit easier as his rival reigned in his killing intent, "I had no idea Akemi was bugging you so much." He forced a cheesy grin, and Kakashi snorted in disbelief while Obito reached out to grab the clan heir under his armpits and give him a tug.

Akemi, face lax with apathy, didn't budge.

Kakashi's chakra flared and Obito suddenly imagined the earth rising like a tidal wave and swallowing him whole under the command of his rival's earth jutsu.

"Now, Akemi-kun," Obito sent the clan heir a strained smile, "You don't want your favorite cousin to be buried alive—"

"You won't be breathing when I bury you."

Obito ignored the threat, giving Akemi another tug. "Come on!" He gritted his teeth, using his full weight to pull. "Let go!"

Akemi giggled, undoubtedly using chakra to stay fused to Kakashi's elbow, and the masked teen's eyes smoldered until Obito tossed up his hands. "That's it!"

Obito latched onto Akemi and threw himself back with every ounce of his strength.

Then promptly fell on his bottom while lobbing a wide-eyed Kakashi over his head.

Obito gasped, watching in horror as his teammate and cousin flew up then came soaring down. The Hatake reacted quickly, tucking in his arm and curling protectively over the boy attached to it. Only for Akemi to smirk, and in a puff of smoke, switch places with a log. Balance thrown off by the shift, the silver-haired teen hit the grass in an awkward roll and crashed headfirst into a nearby tree stump.

Kakashi wasn't hurt so much as nursing a bruised ego when he plucked himself from the earth, abandoning the log. However, the goggle-wearing Uchiha, cracking up so hard he was literally rolling in the grass, wouldn't realize this until Kakashi was lunging at him.

By the time Minato found the pair, Rin had already tended to Obito's fractured arm and was now fixing up Kakashi's black eye.

The jonin sentenced them both to D-rank missions for a week, and the teens refused to acknowledge each other for days. Not until Obito, rosy as a tomato, marched up to Kakashi on the third day, waved his trash picker in the Hatake's face, and boasted he could pick up more litter than him.

Kakashi didn't grace him with a response, and Obito's face fell, genuine hurt stinging his eyes until Kakashi sighed. "I suppose if it gets this done faster..."

The masked boy swung around and for a second Obito thought he was going to be struck, but Kakashi's trash picker merely stabbed a scrap of paper near Obito's feet.

"Hey!" The goggled boy sputtered while Kakashi deposited the trash in his own garbage bag. "That was mines!"

Kakashi crossed his arms and huffed. "Then you better pick up the pace before I beat you."

Obito's mouth fell open, surprise overtaking his face, but soon he held his head high and sneered. "Right back at you!"

The teens dove into their litter-picking with renewed vigor, unaware of Akemi sitting in the tree above them, watching as the duo scoured the sidewalk clean. Behind them the sun dipped into the horizon, its rich orange rays dyeing the orange-garbed Uchiha an even deeper shade of the color until he was a golden child flittering across the streets.

It was an image that haunted Kakashi every time he visited the memorial stone.

And one of the last ones screaming through Obito's head as he tossed Kakashi out the way and the rocks came tumbling down.

**.**

Mother was nursing Sasuke in another room when Akemi's face shuddered.

In an instant Itachi was out of his chair and leaning over the bed, breath abated while Akemi's eyes fluttered, closed, and fluttered once more before staying half-lidded.

"Akemi?" Itachi whispered as obsidian orbs, dull and glassy, bored into empty space.

" _Akemi_?" Desperation leaked into Itachi's tone, but he couldn't regret it when Akemi's head flopped to the side and his eyes cleared as they met Itachi's gaze.

For a second the twins simply observed each other, recognition crossing the younger's face before he ran an almost frantic scan over the eldest, and Itachi wanted to scold him—he was not the one who nearly _died_ _._

Akemi seemed to read his mind, ceasing his search and exhaling softly. "Sorry, didn't mean to worry you," his eyes lowered reverently, "Nii-san."

And there was something about hearing that title, hearing someone acknowledge Itachi as _big brother_ like no one, not even Sasuke yet, could that snapped all semblance of his self-control.

He dragged Akemi off the bed and into his arms, cradling the back of his head and angling it down until their foreheads touched. Itachi didn't speak, nor did Akemi, somehow his twin always knowing exactly what he needed—and to think he nearly lost his precious twin!

Itachi sucked in air through his teeth, eyes squeezing close while he treasured the fact Akemi was here and alive. Not dead. _  
_

 _Never_ dead.

Two minutes passed before Itachi let go and pulled back, his emotions under lock and key once more.

Akemi didn't question it when his brother moved on, saying, "You've been out for sixteen hours, it's nearly two in the afternoon."

He assumed Akemi recalled the events of last night, and was proven correct when his brother grew alarmed. "Are you okay? Is Sasuke? Mom and Dad?"

Itachi nodded and, upon Akemi's asking, recounted his experience during the attack. It was easy, so much easier stating facts rather than examining the questions plaguing his mind.

Just where had Akemi been during the attack? Shikaku-san said he left his place over an hour before the Nine-Tails got loose, so why hadn't the boy returned home? And what had Akemi been doing when he got hurt? No one would tell Itachi, merely stating Akemi was knocked out by falling debris, something that maybe true, but did not explain how Akemi came to suffer chakra exhaustion.

Had his brother been trying to use a jutsu to protect himself? Or to save others only to overtax himself in the process?

Itachi didn't think so, not when he recalled his revelation on the porch last night. Akemi might have foresight, may have even foreseen the Nine-Tails getting loose. So maybe...maybe Akemi had been trying to prevent the attack?

"Woah," Akemi gasped, eyes and mouth wide with childish wonder once Itachi had wrapped up his tale. "You're telling me not only did you protect Sasuke by yourself, saved your future _waifu_ —I mean, some pretty girl," Itachi wondered how he knew what Izumi looked like, "And made it to the shelter all on your own, without a scratch?"

Itachi blinked slowly. "Yes."

Stars shined in Akemi's eyes, and that was Itachi's only warning before his brother glomped him. "You're so cool, Nii-san!" Akemi gushed with Itachi shocked still in his arms. "You're so brave and talented, and I bet you looked amazing last night!"

Itachi's face reddened near imperceptibly while Akemi pulled back to beam at him. "You're the best big brother ever!"

Itachi looked away, used to being praised for his skills and intellect, but unused to being hero-worshiped by his own brother.

"I...I'm sure you were brave too," Itachi said just to get attention off him before his cheeks caught on fire.

However, Akemi's smile dimmed, and he seemed to want to say something when their mother entered the room.

"Kaa-san!" Akemi let him go, running up to and embracing his parent as well as greeting the baby in her arms.

"Akemi," Mother's voice was warm and her smile watery. Although, she was clearly trying to be stern when she laid her hand on Akemi's head, saying, "You shouldn't be up yet."

"Oh, don't worry, I feel fine!" Akemi didn't let her respond as he took Sasuke off her hands and the baby let out a happy shriek.

"Aw, did you miss me, Sasuke?" Akemi chuckled while the infant stretched his tiny arms until he caught hold of Akemi's wide collar and gave it a tug like he wanted to bring his brother closer. "And here I thought you only liked me because you were mistaking me for Itachi," he teased, and Mother laughed.

Itachi watched his family reuniting, smile on his face and shoulders lowering, tension he didn't even notice himself carrying gone at last.

They left the hospital room soon after Biwako-sama gave Akemi a clean bill of health, and both twins held their mother's hands while they walked down the hall. The woman pausing as they passed the hospital's nursery, her dark eyes catching on a blond-haired child behind the glass.

"Kushina..." she grieved.

" _I'm sorry_ _,_ Naruto _..._ "

Itachi turned to Akemi, recognizing the sorrow in his voice despite Akemi speaking a foreign tongue, but his twin was staring at the same newborn his mother observed, and only once they moved away did Itachi notice the guilt marring Akemi's face. He didn't ask what upset his brother while they left the building. Now wasn't the time for answers, so let his brother keep his secrets.

At least, for a while.

**.**

Fugaku watched his wife, his children, his _entire_ clan be surrounded. Enemies on all sides preparing to kill—

Fugaku cut off the disparaging thought, rubbing his temples to ease the pressure building there while he again surveyed the area outside the relocated Uchiha compound.

There wasn't much Fugaku could do at this point. Most of the houses were already built and some families had even started moving in.

Hn...to think suspicion and baseless accusations against his noble clan could lead to this...

"Tou-san?"

For half a second Fugaku thought Itachi had returned despite not having left ten minutes ago, but when he looked back it was Akemi standing in the middle of the path. There was an odd smile on the boy's face, and awkwardness to his gait as he approached him, one the man would say stemmed from shyness in a normal child, but _normal_ was a term he kept _far_ from Akemi.

"What is it?" Fugaku asked more curtly than intended, his headache making it hard to remain impassive.

Akemi stopped at his side and leaned back to take in the same sight Fugaku had. After a beat, he said, "It's not too late to save some of us."

Fugaku's head jerked towards his child, whose eyes sought his earnestly. "The Uchiha compound is surrounded, there's no changing that."

The man tensed, for how could one so young have reached the same conclusions as him?

Akemi, encouragingly, brightened. "But you still have time to register the Uchiha clan for the Family Exchange Program."

Fugaku's face wrinkled. "The what?"

Akemi stared at him blank-faced for a moment. Then in a snap his eyes were blazing, and hands on his sides, he groused. "The Family Exchange Program! You know, the stuff I've been talking about since I was _three._ "

The man might have bristled at the sass in Akemi's tone, but witnessing the boy's rare show of anger distracted him from it while his son held up his index finger and quoted from what sounded like a legal document. "To prevent the horrific results of clan inbreeding—"

"How many times do I have to tell you we don't marry close relatives?"

"From affecting Konoha's next generation," Akemi continued like he hadn't heard him, "Members of all clans, who are unmarried and seeking romantic companionship outside of their own clan, are encouraged to enter the Family Exchange Program. All participants, including clan members already wedded to clanless partners or those deriving from a clan besides their own, will be provided housing among a clan of their choosing as long as they meet the qualifications determined by each clan head. It is our hope that the Family Exchange Program will not only unite the citizens of Konoha like never before, but shall increase the chances of new Kekkei Genkai formation in the offspring produced by Program participants. If you have any questions, please visit your clan head for further direction."

Fugaku gazed at his son, feeling very much like he opened the door to find a very pushy salesman on the other side. Akemi's face returned to its default placid expression while he waited for Fugaku to compose himself, which became increasingly difficult once the name of the Program rang a bell in his head.

"Wait..." Fugaku looked up, recalling a moment from months ago, and his eyes flew open wide, the clan head barely stopping his jaw from hitting the ground.

Fugaku couldn't believe it. He'd heard about the Family Exchange Program during the same meeting he been told the Uchiha were being relocated. Councilman Danzō hadn't sounded happy when he mentioned the Family Exchange Program was moving forward, and they were adding a group of houses to numerous clan settlements for Program participants to move into. Fugaku had been so upset over his clan's forced relocation, he'd barely given the Program a second thought.

"So you see, Tou-san." Akemi drew him from his thoughts, expression determined. "If you enter the clan into the Program, some Uchiha would get to live outside the compound. Send only the civilian members if you're that paranoid about the Sharingan being stolen, but I must say, there are a number of laws written in the Program contract protecting all clans from Kekkei Genkai theft."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed at the boy, the man no longer sure _what_ he was looking at.

"Besides," Akemi didn't notice his father's look, "If worst comes to worst, wouldn't you rather some of the clan survive?"

The question struck an unsettling chord in Fugaku, for while it was posed as hypothetical, the way Akemi said it made the worst sound _inevitable_.

"Wouldn't it be better to have mixed Uchiha rather than _no_ Uchiha carrying our clan into the future?"

Fugaku didn't reply as his thoughts spiraled furiously. It was a great plan, a _perfect_ plan. If his clan entered the Family Exchange Program, some Uchiha would fall under the umbrella of another clan, and while some may be willing to take advantage of the recent distrust towards the Uchiha, few would be so bold as to threaten say the Nara or Hyūga.

It was a good move, almost like the Family Exchange Program had been made just for them...

"How did you convince the Council?" Fugaku asked warily, wondering how he had missed his son creating a Program of such magnitude. Then again, he didn't interact with Akemi nearly as much as he did Itachi, and the middle-child rarely came to him for anything beyond training advice.

Akemi shrugged. "Shikaku-san is my friend, Akimichi-san agreed in exchange for the recipes to the _Latino_ dishes I've had him taste test, Kakashi just wanted to get me to shut up, the Yamanaka marry outside their clan fairly often already, Kushina heard about it from mom and was really ecstatic about it." A wistful look crossed the boy's face before he recovered. "And me and Hiashi-san have great talks."

"Hn." The clan head grunted to cover up how shaken he was by the words of what was supposed to be a nearly six-year old, but no...no way a mere _child_ had achieved so much...

Akemi misinterpreted his silence as a request for elaboration. "It all began when I met Hiashi-san at an udon stand, and asked him if he agreed that Uchiha were vampires—"

Fugaku held up his hand and the boy obediently quieted. The father felt torn between shooing the child—if Akemi truly was one—away and demanding Akemi explain how he knew so much.

Knew _too_ much.

His wife robbed him of the choice by calling Akemi in for lunch, and Fugaku was left to sort through the mess in his brain on his own. His second son was proving to be the source of a hundred mysteries, and Fugaku couldn't ignore the boy's strangeness anymore. Not when the child had established connections to nearly every clan, and was even on friendly terms with the Third Hokage's wife.

Then there was the medical report Fugaku received the night Akemi was brought to the hospital during the Nine-Tails attack. Akemi had suffered chakra exhaustion and mild bruising, nothing too worrying until one read that Akemi's eyes showed signs of chakra strain. Many Uchiha had experienced a similar phenomena that night, but all of them had the Sharingan while Akemi showed no sign of possessing their bloodline limit.

Fugaku wasn't sure what this meant, wasn't sure what any of this meant, but certainly, he was going to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like the first half of a two-parter episode, so expect more explanations during the next chapter. 
> 
> Also, I kinda played with the timeline a little because I know Kakashi made chunin at age 6, but here he either did it at age 10 or you can assume Obito was retaking the Chunin Exams when he was 10 and Kakashi got dragged onto the team with him, either way works.
> 
> Anyway, thanks to all those who have supported this story so far! You guys really make my day <3


	3. Remembrance

The Third Hokage was waiting in his office, Biwako seated beside him, when an ANBU guard brought Akemi in. Hiruzen nodded at the masked man and the guard quietly exited the room while Akemi stepped forward, the boy's eyes sliding from left to right in interest. His childish curiosity nearly brought a smile to Hiruzen's face, but then those black orbs landed on him and a chill ran down his spine.

There was _knowing_ in those eyes, wisdom, experience too, and not a speck of youthful naivety.

The Hokage didn't know Uchiha Akemi well, beyond the fact the boy was the originator of the Family Exchange Program, a plan implemented during the end of the Fourth Hokage's reign and thus was not overseen by him until recently. Therefore, Hiruzen could only assess the Uchiha based on snippets of conversations he'd overheard.

According to Nara Shikaku, Akemi was bright like his brother, reserved yet kind, although perhaps the more talkative of the two. Hyūga Hiashi agreed, adding that though the boy was strange, Akemi's oddness made him unpredictable. Coming from the Hyūga, it was nearly a compliment, and didn't that say something considering his clan's rivalry with the Uchiha.

Nevertheless, Sarutobi found the dark eyes blinking curiously at him were wrong, fundamentally _wrong_ for containing such understanding within their depths, and maybe the Hokage wasn't being fair because those dark eyes reminded him of the bright— _too bright_ —snake yellow eyes of his student. Orochimaru, the man he was drifting apart from a little more each day, weighed heavily on his mind, and maybe that was why Hiruzen couldn't help but give Akemi's chakra a quick look over just to make sure this was actually a child before him.

Akemi flinched, too minutely to be noticed if Hiruzen hadn't been so focused on him. Could the youth be a sensor type? Or was it as Biwako feared?

Akemi, his gaze a bit wary, bowed. "Hokaga-sama?" He straightened, uncertainty softening his flat tone. "You wished to see me?"

Sarutobi brushed away his thoughts, there would be time for them later, and smiled warmly. "Yes, but first, please tell me how have you been, Akemi-kun?"

Akemi's neutral expression barely shifted as he smiled politely. "I've been well."

Hiruzen saw Biwako's lips purse from his peripheral, so when her eyes flicked his way, he nodded.

Biwako, sternly yet gently, asked, "So you haven't felt any strange pains when you move? Or felt a burning sensation while manipulating chakra?"

Confusion glimmered across Akemi's face. "No, why would I?"

Biwako frowned down at the desk, her hands folding across her lap. "The night of the Nine-Tails Attack, I noticed my healing jutsu had an unusually strong effect on your body. I didn't mention it in the official medical report because I wasn't sure, but typically this is a sign of Chakra Hypersensitivity."

Alarm peppered over Akemi's expression, and he took half a step back as he gasped. "Isn't that the disorder where your own chakra hurts you when you use it?"

Biwako nodded, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Yes. It's a rare genetic disorder, normally something you're born with." Hiruzen noticed Akemi seemed to comprehend the medical term prior to his wife elaborating. "But it's also possible to develop Chakra Hypersensitivity if one's chakra system is attacked."

Akemi's eyes widened in realization, and the boy seemed to shrink into himself. "So when that masked man attacked me, he might have given me the disorder?"

Biwako's lips curved up, her expression lightening. "Actually, if you've been using chakra for the past two weeks without any trouble, then I can safely conclude your chakra system is fine."

Akemi sighed in relief, his hand slapping over his heart. "Thank goodness, I can't imagine what my father would do if I couldn't—" He shook his head, slipping back under a calm facade, and faced the Third. "Is that all you wanted to know, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen's shoulders drooped, the man feeling every ounce of his age as he said, "There is another matter we must discuss." Power and authority backed his words, though he tempered them with a small grin. "Have you remembered anything new about your attacker during the Nine-Tails Attack?"

Akemi shook his head. "No, I only remember what I told Biwako-sama in the hospital."

The Third chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Well, would you care to remind me of what happened? This old brain of mines isn't what it used to be," he tapped his skull jokingly.

Akemi giggled, quickly stifling the noise beneath his hands. However, Hiruzen thought the sound rang a little false, the child's giggles perhaps a bit too loud before the boy lowered his hands. "Of course, Hokage-sama, I'll remind you."

Akemi's smile vanished. "I was playing Chase with Minato-sama." His eyes took on a sad hue, voice steeped in sorrow, and a part of Hiruzen felt like a monster for putting the child through this, but it had to be done.

Akemi closed his eyes, and lips trembling, admitted. "It-it's a game I made up, like hide-and-seek and ninja combined."

"Hmm?" Hiruzen exaggerated his confusion. "And how exactly do you play this Chase?"

Akemi opened his eyes, smiling weakly like he knew Hiruzen was trying to put him at ease and appreciated the effort. My, my, what a peculiar child.

"The rules are simple." Akemi sniffed, swiping away the tears in his eyes. "You find a ninja and follow them around town until they notice you. Whoever follows a ninja the longest wins."

"Ah," Hiruzen rested his cheek on his fist, shutting one eye in a lazy manner, "So it's a game meant to played within the Village walls?"

Akemi, intelligent as he was, quickly picked up on his meaning. The child's shoulders fell and he began wringing his hands. "Yes, the game can end when a ninja leaves the Village, but that night I...I was doing so _good_." His eyes dropped to the floor. "Minato-sama didn't notice me, and he always used to notice me," fondness spotted his tone before falling to sorrow, "I was just so proud of myself, I wanted to see how long I could last so I followed him and Kushina-sama outside the gates."

The child, his hands curling at his sides, blurted. "I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't have..."

Hiruzen longed to smoke the pipe lying enticingly on his desk, but a sharp look from his wife stilled his hand. Biwako never liked him smoking in front of children. As a medic-nin she knew how detrimental secondhand smoke was, and was not afraid to remind him of it.

The Third sighed, stroking his beard while he said, "It's alright, child. You are not in trouble, as I am sure you learned your lesson."

Akemi lifted his face, and Hiruzen immediately straightened up because Akemi's eyes were _haunted_ as he whispered. "Yes, I learned my lesson when that man showed up...and the bodies fell."

**.**

He'd made a mistake, Akemi realized from his crouch on a sturdy branch across the river, the tree trunk concealing his tiny body while he peered through the leaves and surveyed the cave entrance. The ANBU guards surrounding the opening hadn't noticed him following them out the Village's gates, for even in his first life Akemi had been light-footed, and now as a shinobi he was practically a ghost. Mainly because concealing his chakra signature was second nature at this point.

It was just so _easy_ manipulating the foreign energy thrumming through his body, probably because unlike everybody else in this world Akemi had lived a whole other life without it. Admittedly it took some time to adjust to having a chakra system, and at first performing the most basic jutsu had left him nauseated since having chakra was like constantly feeling the blood coursing through his veins while using chakra felt like purposefully pouring out said blood.

Thankfully the squeamish sensation passed within months, but five years into his new life and Akemi was still acutely aware of the chakra within him as well as the chakra burning in others. On the bright side, his chakra sensitivity made it near impossible for anybody to sneak up on him. On the negative, it seemed jutsu moves hit him harder than they should, for during training sessions with Fugaku, Itachi merely got singed after failing to dodge the man's fire moves while Akemi ended up with burns littering his arms. Mikoto figured he just bruised easily, but Akemi suspected jutsu attacks hurt him more than they should because if his own chakra felt alien to him then someone else's striking him felt like an outright _invasion_.

However, none of that mattered now, because being a sensor type only gave Akemi a split second to recognize that familiar chakra signature before the bodies hit the water and Obito stood over them in its shallow depths.

For a moment Akemi just stared, bile trapped in his throat and eyes blown open wide. He'd never seen anyone die right in front of him before, but now rust red rippled across the stream, rising from beneath the corpses of men who would never smile, never laugh, never hope or dream again.

Akemi tore his gaze away, and caught sight of Obito striding towards the cave wall. Immediately Akemi threw out his chakra in an unrestrained burst, praying Minato would sense it, get on his guard, and surely that would be enough to save him.

A kunai's cool metal bit into the skin of Akemi's neck, and his pupils shrunk to pinpricks as he stared at the masked teenager crouched across from him.

"Obito..." Akemi gasped, shock freezing up his joints while Obito's sharingan eye coldly observed him.

There wasn't any recognition in that scarlet orb, although Akemi was certain Obito remembered him.

"You..."

Akemi's eyes expanded even further at the sound of that coarse, aged voice, and the oxygen fled Akemi's lungs as Obito leaned in close. "Why are you here?"

He couldn't find the breath to speak, not with death looming and threatening to cut him down any second.

Akemi didn't think it would go like this, always telling himself year after year that he could change this night, save Naruto's parents, and save Obito from himself... Yet, a part of him always knew it was impossible.

Even back when Akemi had been practicing his water walking one dreary morning and spotted Obito on the docks, Akemi only pretended to drown because he believed change was possible. All he had to do was give Obito someone who looked up to him, _believed_ in him, and then Madara could never get inside the teen's head. It wouldn't even matter if Obito returned to Konoha with vengeance in his heart, Akemi told himself he could just stir up old feelings and turn Obito from his ways.

How foolish...how _stupid_ of Akemi to believe such a thing. It was a pretty, little lie he'd clung to all these years, Akemi knew that now as Obito's sharingan bored into him and the kunai nicked his neck, causing a bead of blood to roll down.

There would be no reasoning with Obito tonight, he understood that now. Perhaps, deep in his heart, he had always known.

Akemi's eyes burned, tears welling in their corners, because Itachi would miss him. Akemi thought he could make his brother's life better, make so many lives better, but after he died today everything would be so much _worse_.

Yet Obito's hand wasn't moving, and the tiniest flicker of hope sparked in Akemi's chest. Was it possible? Could that bright-eyed boy who danced in the glow of the orange sun still exist somewhere behind that scarlet eye?

"I...will not hurt...Akemi."

Obito's toneless oath threw the five-year old for a loop, but it was the sudden removal of the kunai from his neck that shocked Akemi the most.

"What?" He whispered while Obito rose and stepped back on the branch, a hint of confusion visible in his lone eye, almost like the teenager himself didn't know what he was doing.

There was no time to ponder this however, as splinters of pain struck Akemi's eyes. The boy inhaled sharply, slamming his palms into his eyeballs. The cool skin of his hands eased his discomfort for a second, but then another wave of pain struck him like a knife slice across the eyes, and Akemi screamed, jerking back so hard he tipped over and fell off the branch.

Yet he never hit the water, strong arms catching him instead, and through the stinging pain Akemi heard the masked teen promise.

"Obito...will always...protect Akemi."

The younger boy forced his hands down and his eyes snapped open to see Obito peering down at him. Something was wrong, for there was _gold_ tinting the red of Obito's sharingan.

Akemi tried to get up, needed to leave and figure out what was happening, but his body was too heavy. _¿Qué?_ Why was he so tired all of the sudden?

"Akemi-kun!"

A masculine, adult voice called from what sounded far off, but when Obito swiveled around Akemi saw Minato standing in the water across from them. The Hokage's blue orbs flicked towards Akemi, and narrowed, but when he went to speak, Akemi's world abruptly blackened. It took him a second to realize he hadn't passed out, Obito had simply transported them into the cave's interior.

"Put him down!" Minato appeared in front of them in a flash, having followed.

Akemi blinked rapidly to keep conscious, and through his snapshot vision, noticed Kushina on the table, her face warped by pain and exhaustion while the black seal bubbled on her abdomen. Oh, no, Akemi hadn't bought Minato enough time to suppress the Nine-Tails! The Fourth must have ran out to investigate his chakra flare before he could.

"Biwako-sama," Minato said without looking away from Obito, his feet shifting into a battle stance, "Take Naruto and go!"

Akemi glimpsed the older woman's pale, shocked face before she pivoted and sprinted out the cave, blond newborn in her arms and her medical assistant hurrying after her.

"Minato!" Kunshina's cry made the blond glance back, only for Obito to warn.

"Step away from the Jinchūriki, Fourth Hokage Minato." Thin fingers padded along Akemi's throat, curling around it and applying the barest pressure. "Or the child dies."

The threat hung hefty in the air, as deadly and potent as a viper's fangs poised over his heart, but was Obito being serious? Had whatever compelled him to let Akemi live disappeared?

The boy barely had time to contemplate it before white fire ignited in his eyes, and Akemi's shriek echoed outside the cave chamber.

"—hurting him! Please, calm down!" Minato begged over Akemi's fading scream, his voice high with stress while his wife struggled to muffle her own cries behind him.

Akemi didn't mean for this to happen, to become a burden, but even as his yell tampered into a muted whimper, he sensed his body disconnecting from his brain. Akemi couldn't so much as twitch anymore, and though a strange numbness was dwindling the burning in his eyes, every breath he drew was a little weaker than the previous. Was...was he dying? How? Why?

Minato shouted something, but Akemi's ears were filled with the sound of his own labored breaths. He wanted to tell Minato to forget about him, that Kushina needed him more and Naruto deserved to grow up with parents, yet, Akemi's vision was going in and out.

Obito's arms shifted beneath him, and suddenly Akemi was airborne, weightless and free, until another pair of arms—Minato?—caught him. Then heat billowed across Akemi's face and smoke tickled his nose. Paper bombs, his mind supplied right as Minato whispered. "I've got you..."

Akemi must have blacked out then because the arms left abruptly, and in their place he laid on something soft and crunchy—grass?

Akemi peeled open his eyes, and Minato's smile, false in its reassurance, was the last thing he saw before he slipped into oblivion.

**.**

"I don't know what happened after that." Akemi stared at the floor, his knuckles white and hands tight little fists. "Did..." He cautiously peeked up through his bangs, and Biwako frowned in sympathy. "Did Minato-sama tell you anything before he..."

The medic-nin sighed, shaking her head. "Taji and I made it back to Konoha right when the Nine-Tails started to attack the Village. Some debris hit us on our way to the Hospital, and I was knocked unconscious. By the time I woke up, Naruto was gone, Taji was dead," her face wrinkled with remorse, "And you were lying next to me. I can only assume the Fourth Hokage left you in my care, but much about that night remains unclear." She shook her head.

The Third heaved a heavy sigh. "Which is why I was hoping you remembered more details about the man who attacked you."

Akemi shook his head. "No, I only remember the masked man catching me outside the cave and using his sharingan on me. Then my eyes started hurting and I got really sleepy."

Biwako appeared thoughtful. "It's possible he placed you under a genjutsu that tricked you into expelling your chakra, causing you to suffer chakra exhaustion."

Akemi frowned. "But how did that man even get the Sharingan? There's no way he's an Uchiha, his chakra signature wasn't familiar."

Hiruzen leveled a flinty stare on the boy. "So you are a sensor type?"

Akemi beamed. "Yeah!" His grin faded. "That's how I know that man wasn't an Uchiha. Plus, why would an Uchiha attack one of his clan's heirs?"

Hiruzen fingered his pipe. "Unfortunately, we don't have an answer to your question." A smile fanned out upon his face. "Thank you, Akemi-kun. The information you've shared with us will certainly help us catch the masked man." He gestured towards the door. "You are free to leave, but please remember the cover story."

Akemi bobbed his head. "I was hit by debris on my way home, but Biwako-sama found me and took me to the hospital." He bowed. "I won't tell anyone what really happened, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smiled while Akemi began to leave. However, the child stopped in the doorway and turned to his wife. "Biwako-sama," his face fell downcast, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Biwako gasped as Hiruzen observed the boy, noting the wide breadth of sympathy lurking in those twin pools of ebony.

"Thank you," Biwako smiled a little sadly, "Akemi-kun."

The child nodded, then disappeared out the door without a sound.

Hiruzen immediately grabbed his pipe off the table, brought it to his mouth, and inhaled deeply. "That boy is as strange as they say." He blew out a plume of smoke.

Biwako sent him a coy smile. "Yes, but is that such a bad thing?"

Hiruzen chuckled, smoke wafting up to the ceiling. "Only time will tell."

**.**

Akemi stepped onto the wooden stool set in front of the sink and examined himself in the bathroom mirror. Without moving his head, he looked from left to right, up and down, paying close attention to his pupils' movement.

Nothing happened.

Akemi grabbed the flashlight off the counter, flicked off the overhead lights, and in the darkness aimed the flashlight at one eye. The pupil shrank appropriately, and dilated when he turned the light away. He did the same to his other eye, getting the same results.

The boy set the flashlight on the counter so it highlighted his face, and squinted at his mirror image while performing a series of hand signs. The summoned gust of wind made his hair fly up and shirt collar flap against his chin, but his eyes didn't change in the least as the air settled.

Akemi scowled. He knew something strange happened to his eyes the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, and Obito wasn't the reason why.

 _"_ _Obito...will always...protect Akemi."_

The five-year old hadn't thought much of the masked Uchiha's words that night until after his talk with the Hokage. Only now did it hit him that he'd fed the exact same line to Obito four years ago while they sat by the campfire, golden flames reflecting in their eyes… Or was it? What if that golden tinge hadn't came from the fire?

Obito's sharingan was tinged _gold_ when he promised not to hurt him, and while it might be a coincidence, Akemi's eyes only started hurting _after_ he made eye contact with Obito. Prior to that Obito's killing intent had bared down on him with all the weight and swiftness of a guillotine, so although the Hokage believed it was Obito who attacked Akemi, Akemi was beginning to think _he_ was the one to attack Obito.

Akemi had been terrified, fully aware he might die by Obito's hand that night, and weren't most bloodline limits unlocked during high-pressure situations? Since he was an Uchiha, Akemi must have unknowingly used some type of dōjutsu which explained why Akemi's eyes hurt and how he suffered chakra exhaustion. He must have been expelling chakra without realizing it, perhaps while placing Obito under a form of hypnosis that stopped the teenager from killing him.

"But I don't have the Sharingan," Akemi brought his hands to his face, lightly patting the area around his eyes.

No, the Sharingan was red, but Obito's eye had been rimmed with _gold_. Also, Akemi was pretty sure a newly-awakened Sharingan didn't have the strength to overtake Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan. Yet, whatever dōjutsu Akemi used was strong enough to control the teenager until Obito fought it off and used Akemi as a hostage in Naruto's place.

Akemi rubbed his temple, frustration mounting.

 _Estupendo_ , just _estupendo_! _Porque_ it wasn't like his life was complicated enough without him gaining a dōjutsu he'd never heard of!

This was nearly as bad as Akemi's dreams of late, which technically weren't even dreams. No longer did Akemi go to bed and imagine nonsensical conversations and impossible scenarios. Rather, ninety-five percent of his nighttime visions were _Naruto_ episode clips, which were particularly jarring to wake from considering he now saw most _Naruto_ characters as living, breathing, three-dimensional people.

Also, there was the odd compulsion Akemi felt upon waking, the desperate urge to etch the images in his brain on the nearest flat surface. It was like one second Akemi was in bed, and by the next there was a drawing utensil in his hand and graphically detailed drawings of manga scenes on the skecthpad in his lap. It was actually kinda amazing since Aurelio had never mastered drawing in his first life—his sketch skills having been fairly average back then.

Could the two oddities be related? The dreams and this golden dōjutsu of his?

Akemi rubbed his chin. Now that he thought about it, he didn't have many dreams starring Obito until he met him...and the same went for Kakashi...

"Aye, yai, yai!" Akemi's whole body slumped as he dragged a hand over his face. "It's just one thing after another in this _loco_ life!"

He lifted his hand and peered into the mirror.

Only to spot Fugaku standing behind him.

Akemi whipped around, having been too distracted to sense the man who currently stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes wide and lips twisted like he'd witnessed a horrific blood ritual—Oh! Akemi had been muttering in English and Spanish this whole time, without a single phrase of Japanese—or Katonese as the people of the Land of Fire called it. So from Fugaku's point of view, he'd caught his weirdo son chanting a freaky language in a pitch black room, and, yeah, the man totally thought Akemi was some type of demon at this point.

Akemi flashed his teeth. "Oh, did you need to use _el baño_ —I mean, the bathroom?" Akemi struggled to keep his expression passive while Fugaku's brow furrowed at the sound of his "demonic" language. "I guess I'll head to bed now. Goodnight, Tou-san!" Akemi grabbed his flashlight, hopped off the stool, and muffled a snicker in his sleeve when Fugaku flinched as he brushed past him.

He managed to keep a straight face until he reached his bedroom, then commenced to laugh himself hoarse into his pillow. Poor Fugaku, the man was going to have a nervous breakdown if he didn't let up soon.

**.**

Itachi was trying, _truly_ _trying_ , not to notice it.

When he entered the living room and found Akemi already seated at the breakfast table, sketching on his pad, Itachi purposely turned away from the drawing while he sat beside him. He examined the room instead, observing the banner strung from the ceiling and brandishing their clan crest, as well as the bookshelf stuffed in a corner with old picture frames sitting atop it.

Their furniture was the same, something familiar in their brand new home, and Itachi was grateful that the storage warehouse they sent their furniture to merely a few hours prior to the Nine-Tails Attack had been spared any damage. If not for that rat infestation, they could have lost everything. Fortunately Akemi noticed the rats—

Itachi recalled Akemi's insistence they not leave any object behind, like he _knew_ they would be lost if they were, and his eyes darted to Akemi's drawing, but he snapped his gaze away immediately. The scritch-scratch of pencil lead against paper thundered in his ears, however, Itachi refused to turn back, instead focusing on the picture frames set upon the bookshelf.

Akemi's beaming baby face shined down on him. Itachi, also an infant in the old photograph, sat on the floorboards next to him. Unlike Akemi, Itachi's face was blank while his eyes tracked something outside the frame.

But Akemi stared directly at the camera, as if he knew his picture was being taken...as if he was aware of what a camera was...

Itachi swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Exactly how long had Akemi been able to see the future? Surely, not since infancy. For that would mean even as a baby Akemi had experienced all sorts of things through his foresight, from wars to torture, culture to education, games to music—

 _"_ _I practice the piano in my dreams."_

Itachi twitched, recognizing that Akemi played the piano like he'd been _born_ knowing how to play, and Itachi was starting think maybe he really had.

"Nii-san?"

He looked up to find Akemi with worry sprinkled across his passive expression. "Is something wrong?"

Itachi's gaze dropped onto the sketchbook planted on the table. A dark-haired man stood under a cloudy sky, his face angled towards the downpour, and Itachi couldn't tell if the man was crying or if those were raindrops rolling down his face.

Akemi's hand clenched around the pencil hovering over the paper, and Itachi raised his eyes to find his twin shifting uncomfortably. Quickly Itachi opened his mouth, but Mother came in asking for help carrying the dishes, and Itachi's mouth clacked shut as he departed to the kitchen.

**.**

Six-year old Itachi thought it would get easier to ignore Akemi's foretelling ability as time passed. Yet, every day he noticed a habit or trait of Akemi's, which seemed perfectly ordinary prior to his realization on the porch, that now was so glaringly obvious evidence Akemi could see the future.

It was the sketches lining the walls of Akemi's bedroom. His younger brother added new ones and took down some of the old ones every month. However, there were certain pictures he never hung up at all. Like that sketch of the dark-haired man wearing a cloak and facing the rain, Itachi hadn't seen it since Akemi sketched it at the breakfast table. He figured Akemi stored it in that plastic bin tucked under his bed, the one he'd seen Akemi locking with seals only he could break.

There were other things too, little moments, that gave it away, like the night of their sixth birthday. Akemi bought him a manual on how to best utilize nature jutsu with physical weapons, something Itachi was interested in if only to learn how to counter it. However, later in the privacy of Itachi's bedroom, Akemi handed him a small brown package.

Inside lied two bottles of nail polish, black and scarlet _nail polish_.

Itachi had raised incredulous eyes from the box while his brother beamed sunshine at him. "It's alright, you don't have to use it." Akemi's smile revealed his pearly white canines. "But if you ever decide to paint your nails, I would prefer you go with one of these colors. They match your complexion way better than say," Akemi performed a full body shudder, "Blueberry nail polish."

Itachi simply stared at his twin, wondering if this was a joke when Akemi leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Remember, Nii-san, sharkmen do not make good friends." Akemi pulled back, looking solemn, although his cheeks were puffed in a pout. "Especially if that sharkman tells you to wear blue nail polish."

He patted Itachi's shoulder. "So keep that nail polish around just in case." His twin vacated the room, muttering about poor fashion choices while Itachi carefully closed the gift package and slid it under his bed, incredulous expression never leaving his face even as he went to sleep.

There was also that time Itachi walked in on Akemi playing with Sasuke in the living room. His twin laid on his stomach, stretched across a pillow and resting on his elbows. In one hand he dangled a beanbag about the size of his head, which was shaped and colored like a tomato. Sasuke crawled towards the beanbag as Akemi shook it, saying, " _Ven aquí_ , Sasuke, look at what I got you." He set the beanbag on the floor, smiling softly. "It's a little tomato for my _tomatito._ "

The infant stopped in front of the beanbag, which was slightly shorter than him, and without prompt, pounced on it. "Goo!" Sasuke sank into the red cushion while his short arms wrapped halfway around it. Akemi chuckled when Sasuke rolled over and accidentally released the beanbag, only for the infant to crawl back on top of the cushion, and clutching it close once more, started rolling again.

Akemi stopped Sasuke from hitting the wall, carefully lifting the one-year old off the floor and setting him down in the middle of the room where the infant preceded to roll again, laughing every time the beanbag was squashed beneath him.

"Ooh, where's that camera when you need it?" Akemi muttered to himself, perhaps unaware of Itachi behind him. "It probably won't happen, but if you go all angsty again, I'm going need something to blackmail you with, and this couldn't be more perfect." Akemi glanced back at his twin. "Hey, could you get my camera from my room?"

Itachi initially hesitated, for his brother had known he was there the whole time yet hadn't censored himself, but soon left to fetch the camera. Still, he was plagued with thoughts on his way up the staircase. Was Akemi being so conspicuous because he was confident Itachi wouldn't figure out his ability? Or was Akemi truly so reckless?

"It's like he's not even trying to hide it," Itachi didn't yell, though he really wanted to.

Shisui, sitting cross-legged on a large stone by the brook, tapped his fingers on his knees. "Or he's decided to hide in plain sight," the older boy offered after Itachi gave him a rundown on the events proving Akemi had foresight. "Or maybe he just trusts you."

Itachi regarded Shisui. "You mean Akemi doesn't care if I know about his foresight, and is trusting me not to tell anyone?"

"Yup," Shisui grinned cheekily. "Which would mean you've failed, considering you've told me."

Itachi didn't react, too busy thinking over the possibility. Akemi always had opened up more around him, and Itachi couldn't recall a time where Akemi dipped into that odd language of his around their parents. Was it because Itachi never questioned Akemi's strangeness? Or did his brother really trust him that much?

Itachi hoped it was the latter, his brothers should know Itachi would never hurt them or allow others to do them harm. Sasuke and Akemi were precious to Itachi, each in their own way. It was why Itachi now sought Shisui's guidance, he couldn't afford to tarnish the bond between him and his twin.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Should I ask him?"

Shisui shook his head. "I doubt he would take that well." He frowned at the gurgling brook. "We can't be sure Akemi is aware you know about his foresight, so it might shock him if you suddenly start talking about it. Also, you've got to understand he's probably scared."

Itachi glared at the floor, having a good idea what Shisui meant.

"If Akemi can see the future, he's likely terrified of people finding out, and reasonably so. To know when an enemy might strike before they do, to predict future obstacles and prevent them... Some ninja would kill to have that type of power."

Itachi shuddered inside, suddenly wary of his surroundings though they were deep in the private Uchiha training grounds and the brook's burble muffled their voices. For if anyone overheard that Akemi could see the future, they might come after him, lock Akemi up, and force his twin to tell them about the future by any means deemed necessary.

Shisui shared his concern. "And that's without considering how hard it is on Akemi, constantly carrying the weight of the future and deciding on matters of life and death..."

Itachi's heart sunk. He had never considered the price Akemi payed for his foresight, never even noticed his brother carrying such a burden, and something about that made Itachi feel like a failure.

Shisui clasped his shoulder, and Itachi hadn't heard the older boy move, but when he raised his head to see Shisui smiling reassuringly, a part of him felt lighter.

Shisui released him, saying, "How about I see what I can dig up in the Uchiha clan archives at the library? Maybe I can find some record of past Uchiha developing foresight. It's possible Akemi's gained some variant of the Sharingan."

Itachi nodded, his lips forming a line. "I will ask my father about the same."

"Sounds like a plan," Shisui smirked, then like his namesake, he transported away in a whirl of leaves.

Itachi didn't waste any time, trudging home immediately. However, his father didn't show up for lunch, so his questions went unanswered until a few minutes prior to dinner.

His parent was already seated at the table, and Itachi took his customary place across from him. Akemi was in the kitchen with Mother and Sasuke, making some type of tomato paste called _salsa_ to go with the dumpling-like food Akemi called _empanadas_. Initially Father was against Akemi's strange baking, but every one of Akemi's meals proved to be rather savory and not too different from Land of Fire food, so Father had eventually relented.

"Tou-san," Itachi seized the opportunity to speak without Akemi overhearing, and his father shifted to face him, "I have a question about the Sharingan."

Interest flashed across Fugaku's face. "Ah," he closed his eyes, arms folding over his chest, "You have become interested in our dōjutsu lately."

Itachi nodded. "I was wondering about the Sharingan's abilities. Can it really see into the future?"

A gruff chuckle rumbled out Fugaku's throat, the man's shoulders shaking in amusement as the left side of his lips quirked up. "Those rumors are still around? I heard the same myth in my youth." He grew serious. "No, the Sharingan allows its user to _predict_ the movements of others, but it doesn't actually show them the future, and even with the Sharingan one can be caught off guard."

The man stressed the latter part, and Itachi soaked in the guidance before asking, "But doesn't the Sharingan work a little differently for everybody?"

"Yes, every Sharingan is unique to the individual who possess it, some naturally more advanced than others, but all generally work the same way."

Itachi stopped, choosing his next words carefully. "Can every Uchiha gain the Sharingan?"

Fugaku squinted in thought. "Yes, as long as one has Uchiha blood, even in a small percentage, they may gain the Sharingan. However, as it is a bloodline limit and thus related to genetics, there is a small chance of a person being born with a genetic mutation that effects it." Itachi leaned in while his father grimaced. "If someone is born blind, for example, they may never gain the Sharingan. It's also possible to gain the Sharingan in only one eye." Fugaku suddenly noticed his son's close attention. "Why are you asking?"

Itachi pulled back, wondering why his father sounded so accusatory.

"Both I and your mother possess the Sharingan, so it's unlikely you would worry about not developing it..." The man's face darkened and a root of fear sprouted in Itachi's heart. "Are you asking for your brother's sake?"

Itachi blinked in genuine confusion. "No, Akemi didn't tell me to ask you. I simply wanted to know more about the Sharingan, Tou-san."

Fugaku appraised him, and Itachi forced himself to stay relaxed until the man looked away. "Of course he didn't, your brother isn't afraid to ask questions, even when he should be."

Itachi frowned, not liking his Father's barbarous tone.

Lately, the man had been giving Akemi long, layered looks, like one examining an insect they'd never seen before. His tone was also colder, more curt whenever he addressed Akemi, and Itachi knew his twin had noticed.

Itachi didn't like it, but wasn't sure what caused this change, nor was he certain how to fix it. Personally, he hoped things between them would smooth over soon on their own.

Though somehow he doubted it as Akemi walked into the room, helping Mother set the food on the table, and Father tracked his every move while Itachi could swear, for a moment, his father's eyes flashed _red_.

**.**

Shisui whooshed out a breath of air, falling into a crouch and splaying his hand on the dirt floor to balance himself. Across the training field Itachi was in a similar state of exhaustion, the boy's hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and the kunai hot in his hands while he shifted out of a fighting stance.

"That's enough for today. I have to be home in time for dinner." Itachi headed over to the target boards littering the trees, and started gathering the shuriken and kunai sticking out of them.

Shisui wiped his forehead with his sleeve and straightened. "Okay, but before you leave…" Itachi paused, turning. "I couldn't find anything like Akemi's ability in the records." He kept his reference vague, wary even with the silence barrier seals he had set around the field.

Itachi put his tools in his pouch. "Neither could I."

Shisui quietly said, "I think you should tell him you know about it."

Itachi's forehead crinkled. "Why?"

The eldest's dark eyes warmed into an almond brown shade as he replied. "Akemi should know you have his back, even if you don't understand what type of dōjutsu he has, sometimes just knowing you have someone you can rely on makes all the difference."

Itachi shut his eyes for a moment, lips pressing tightly together. "You're right," his eyes opened, "I'll tell him tonight."

Nightfall came faster than Itachi expected, but maybe that was Itachi's anxiousness messing with his time perception. Regardless, before he knew it, Itachi was sitting on the edge of Akemi's bed. Down the hall he heard Akemi telling Sasuke, "—if you ever stop being this cute, I have the right to give you _la chancla_ , _comprende_?"

"Hae!" Sasuke blurted what was almost a word, but wasn't quite there yet.

"…I'm taking that as a 'yes'."

The barest sound of skin smacking skin, likely Akemi giving Sasuke a goodnight kiss on the forehead, drifted out the nursery before bare feet padded into the hall and out of the darkness Akemi emerged in the doorway.

"Nii-san? You're staying here tonight?" Akemi smiled, unbothered as he joined Itachi on the bed, pulling down the blanket while Itachi laid back on the pillow. Akemi tugged the covers over them and rolled onto his side, settling his head on Itachi's chest. The eldest brought his hand to Akemi's hair and started playing with the dark strands, knowing this would lull Akemi to sleep.

For a few minutes they were quiet, Akemi getting drowsier by the minute as Itachi hoped, though it was only once Akemi was on the brink of unconsciousness that Itachi took a deep breath and admitted. "I know you can see the future."

Akemi stopped breathing.

So Itachi was unsurprised to look down and find Akemi staring wide, horrified eyes up at him.

Itachi resumed his hair stroking, calmly continuing. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just wanted you to know if you ever need help, if it ever gets to be too much, I'll be there for you."

He raised his gaze to the drawings on the wall, examining the new ones while his brother composed himself.

"Who else knows?"

The rough, toneless voice coming from his brother shocked Itachi, but he didn't show it as he said, "I've only told Shisui of my suspicions."

Akemi relaxed. "That's fine, he won't tell anyone."

Itachi heard it, the absolute surety in Akemi's tone, and knew his twin was not simply putting faith in Itachi's friend. Akemi was putting faith in the Shisui he had seen in his visions, in the shinobi Shisui would one day be.

Itachi recalled the fear flooding Akemi's face when he first saw Shisui and realized it was not fear of Shisui so much as fear _for_ Shisui.

Terror carved a hole in Itachi's heart—and was this what his twin had been dealing with all this time? This heart-wrenching fear of things yet to come?

"Nii-san." Itachi watched Akemi's mouth twist in a grimace. "I can't see the future."

For a second Itachi couldn't process the bold-faced lie coming out of Akemi's mouth until the younger boy's eyes sprung to the open doorway. "I'm just really good at predicting, you know?"

Itachi forced himself to remain calm, picking up on the fact his brother sensed someone nearby. "Oh, well, it was Shisui who convinced me you were a seer," Itachi laughed a little, "But he's also the one who said the Sharingan could predict the future, so I guess I shouldn't have believed him."

Akemi yawned, snuggling under the covers. "That would be cool if it did. Then we could use the Sharingan to gamble all over the place...get super rich...buy a lifetime supply of coffee..."

Itachi murmured an agreement, shutting his eyes and pretending not to notice the familiar chakra lingering outside the room. Fugaku's sharingan eyes gleaming crimson in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akemi is playing a dangerous game. Whether he'll win or not...we'll just have to wait and see... Also, I hope this ending was less of a cliffhanger than the previous chapter 😅 And that you all enjoyed reading it!
> 
> Next time: Itachi and Akemi enter Ninja Academy!


	4. Re-educate

"This is going to be so fun!" Akemi pumped his arms in front of his chest while their family left the Academy Entrance Ceremony.

Mother grinned at him, especially radiant in her cream white dress, while Fugaku eyed the six-year old irritatedly. "The Academy is not a game, Akemi." He grunted, folding his arms. "I expect you to achieve high marks in all your classes, and for you to bring honor to the Uchiha name."

Mother's smile turned frosty, but Akemi didn't notice as he spoke to Itachi. "Aren't you excited, Nii-san? The Academy is going to be our greatest adventure yet, I just know it!"

He beamed, and Itachi gently smiled back. "Hai." He was eager to learn new ninjutsu, and acquire more knowledge about the shinobi world they lived in.

Which was why Itachi was so disappointed merely two weeks into the school year, as every taijutsu course taught him skills he'd long since mastered, and academic classes like math and reading rarely imparted new knowledge to him. It was a vexing predicament, one only worsened by his fellow classmates.

Their eyes full of awe and wonder, anger and resentment, followed Itachi everywhere. He ignored them for the most part, too lost in his thoughts to even notice sometimes, but it was his kind twin who proved to be his greatest buffer.

Akemi talked more than usual whenever they strode through the Academy halls, and it wasn't long before Itachi realized Akemi was doing it for him. When the girls squealed and waved while the boys jeered and catcalled, Akemi rambling, "-shirts with both clan crests for the Family Exchange Program look super cool," caused all their childish voices to fade and blend into the background.

Then in the classroom, it soon became apparent Itachi wasn't the only one not benefiting from the school curriculum. For although Akemi was never anything except verbally polite to teachers, it was clear from day one he never payed attention to their lectures and merely skimmed the titles of in-class reading assignments before setting them down. Instead, Akemi spent most of the school day sketching on his pad or reading a medical textbook.

At first the teacher must have thought Akemi a slouch, calling often on his twin in order to catch him off guard. Yet, Akemi would always lift his eyes from his book, examine the blackboard, and then simply and correctly answer every question written on it. By the time the teacher responded, Akemi had returned to his reading while the man sputtered, "T-that's correct, Akemi."

It was obvious Akemi never knew what specific question the teacher was asking, but it was also clearly of no consequence to the boy if he wasn't paying attention, and Itachi found it oddly reassuring to see someone else completing class assignments in under a minute.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said during taijutsu and ninjutsu practice.

Akemi was good, top of their class good, and never failed to beat his opponent during a sparing match. However, his shuriken didn't always hit dead center on the target board, sometimes striking right outside the black circle, and while Akemi never took a hit during a match, sometimes his moves were slow enough for his sparring partner to dodge them. So while Akemi was advanced, and in some academics even surpassed Itachi, his brother still made mistakes, enough mistakes to make him seem normal.

Too normal.

"You're holding back," Itachi said while they walked the path home.

"Not against you." Akemi replied, flashing his teeth.

He smiled back, resolving not to bring up the topic again. Akemi didn't keep secrets from him, so if his brother hadn't brought up his holding back against Academy students, there was good reason for it, and Itachi trusted Akemi to explain once the time was right.

Besides, Itachi enjoyed their private little competitions whenever the teacher handed them a homework sheet and Akemi sent him that challenging smirk. How their pencils flew across the paper as they raced to see who could finish first. Their teacher and classmates always looked so gobsmacked whenever he and Akemi stopped to set the homework the teacher had just passed out on his desk before heading home.

Therefore, school might have been a disappointment, but it was rarely boring with Akemi at his side. Though, Itachi didn't appreciate the envious glares some of the boys sent Akemi's way, or how the girls fell over themelsves in an attempt to sit next to them. However, Itachi needn't worry about this long, as he woke up one morning to find Akemi had already left for school.

He found Akemi in class, sitting in their usual spot, but when Itachi sat next to him, a girl in the back row shrieked. "I'm sitting next to Itachi and Akemi!"

Itachi mentally braced himself while a blonde girl smacked the shrieker upside her head, growling. "No, I am!"

"Now, girls," the teacher held up his hands, eyes imploring though his smile was nervous.

_SMACK!_

The teacher jumped, the girls screamed, and the boys walking into the room nearly fell over in their haste to stop.

Itachi regarded Akemi in confusion, but his brother was staring at the teacher, his hand still flat on the the table where he had smacked it.

"A-Akemi?" The teacher eyed the boy uncertainly, for the Uchiha was never one to cause a ruckus.

"Is is true?" Akemi whispered, expression eerily blank while gray clouds blew in over the school outside.

"Is what true?" The teacher arched a brow as the other children shared puzzled glances.

Akemi was quiet a moment, then, voice tremulous, said, "The rumors, the whispers," his voice dipped so low Itachi wouldn't have heard him if he wasn't sitting beside him, and all the students around them needed to lean in to hear. "Could they be true? Is she here?"

The teacher, appearing deeply disturbed, asked, "Is who here?"

Akemi hesitated, appeared to steel himself, and finally hissed. " _La Chancla._ "

The entire room seemed to tremble with the force of his words, and it took Itachi a second to realize Akemi was leaking low level killing intent. However, his classmates, having never experienced such a thing, merely sensed an ominous atmosphere suddenly sweeping across the room.

The teacher's eyes narrowed, the man quickly scanning the area for the source of killing intent since it couldn't possibly be from any of the children, they simply weren't advanced enough yet.

"I heard La Chancla was coming to the Academy, returning to this very classroom..." Akemi intoned, the dark clouds outside casting shadows over his eyes.

The teacher refocused on him, face a bit pale since he couldn't pinpoint the source of the killing intent.

"You see, La Chancla was a mother of two children who used to attend this Academy." Akemi raised two fingers, "One boy," he lowered one digit, and the boys screamed as the classroom door slammed shut behind them, making them scramble towards the back of the room. "And one girl," he lowered his second finger and the girls shrieked as the lights flickered above them.

Itachi stared out the window on his left, wondering if lightning had caused the brief power shortage while Akemi continued. "La Chancla loved her children dearly, so much so, that when they drowned in a river, she convinced herself they were still alive. Since the only thing that remained of her children were their sandals, she started talking to the shoes like they were her son and daughter. At first, she only talked to them for a few minutes every day, but soon she spoke to the sandals more than she spoke to anyone else. Eventually, La Chancla grew so attached to those pairs of sandals, she started to believe they really were her children, and even convinced the Academy principal to let them attend class."

Thunder cracked outside and Itachi couldn't tell who screamed louder, the students or the teacher, the man hastily straightening up and coughing into his fist to cover up his reaction.

"So every morning La Chancla handed her precious sandals to a teacher, and he would set them on two chairs in the middle of _this_ very room." Akemi gestured to their surroundings. "All was well until one day," the students leaned in as Akemi whispered, "The sandals went missing."

A girl gasped, her hands slapping over her mouth, and Akemi frowned grimly. "Till this day, nobody knows what happened to the sandals. Did a child steal them when the teacher wasn't looking? Were they mistakenly taken to Lost and Found? Regardless, La Chancla was devastated by the news, and in her despair, she soon lost her mind. In a rampage she entered the Academy, burst into _this_ classroom, and started stealing the children's shoes, stealing them in the order of one girl, one boy, one girl, one boy..." All the students glanced at their sandals to make sure they were still there. "The teacher tried to stop her, but she would always shunshin away before he could catch her. So La Chancla kept returning week after week, always managing to steal the shoes of one boy and one girl before the teacher could stop her, until one day, she never came back."

Lightning struck soundlessly outside, bleaching the entire student body white and littering the room with their shadows. "Some think La Chancla died, others believe she just got too old to come after them anymore, but I heard," Akemi's voice darkened menacingly, "La Chancla will return to this class," the students shuddered, "And she will come to this row," he waved to the seats by Itachi, "And if she finds at least one boy," he placed his hand over his chest, "and one girl," he turned to the blonde from earlier, who gulped, "La Chancla will not just steal their sandals." Akemi eyed everyone in the room before he swore, "She will take them too."

The door slammed open.

The lights turned off.

Chaos commenced.

"IT'S LA CHANCLA!"

"SHE'S BACK, SHE'S BACK!"

"I CAN'T LOSE MY SANDALS, I JUST BOUGHT THESE!"

"MAMA, SAVE ME!"

The teacher immediately ran up the stairs to calm the hysterical children while outside the gray clouds swiftly broke apart to reveal blue skies and a radiant sun. Itachi thought the weather shouldn't have changed so quickly.

Meanwhile, on a training field miles away, fifteen-year old Kakashi squinted up at the sky, watching the gray clouds depart.

"Huh, the Uchiha brat was right." He glanced down at his hands. "Chidori can create a lightning storm," he shrugged.

Suddenly a body blocked Itachi's view of the window. He looked up to see Izumi, biting her lip and trembling.

"H-Hi, Itachi-kun." Her eyes squeezed shut and she gulped, easing herself into the seat next to him with her sandaled feet twitching. Itachi greeted her back while a boy behind them stole a girl's shoe and held it up before the other boys.

"If we burn this with my sandal, maybe it will appease La Chancla."

"Stupid boy!" The blond snatched her shoe back and cracked it across the boy's face, causing the other males to cower.

Akemi didn't seem to notice as he pulled out his sketchpad and started drawing, only pausing when Izumi looked past Itachi to ask, "Are your hands okay, Akemi-kun? I thought I saw something hanging off them."

Itachi turned curiously to his brother, eyes narrowing while the puzzle pieces connected. "Chakra strings..." Itachi exhaled. Mother must have taught Akemi how to make them, his twin always had been enraptured by the little puppet shows their mom used to put on back when they were little.

Akemi smirked, nodding at him before telling Izumi. "Don't worry, you probably just glimpsed La Chancla."

Izumi stiffened at the reminder, but then she turned to Itachi, and soon determination brightened her doe-brown eyes. Izumi held her head high as she pulled out her notebook and pencils in preparation to take notes.

Itachi was surprised, but didn't say anything while he pondered how Izumi saw the chakra strings on his brother's fingers. Normal eyesight couldn't detect chakra... Unless...could Izumi have _those_ eyes?

Itachi studied the girl more intently, wondering if there was a bit of _red_ hiding behind those brown orbs.

**.**

Sarutobi Biwako sat at her desk in an office within Konoha Hospital. The sun beamed in through the window to her left, highlighting the photograph of a smiling medic-nin stapled to the file she was scrawling upon.

With a sigh, Biwako set down her pen, picked up a black marker and drew a large **X** over the photo. Although the medic-nin's resume was impressive, his interview had revealed the man was far too timid to handle the rigorous training Biwako had planned. He simply wasn't bold enough.

Unlike Taji.

The first knock on Biwako's office door failed to rouse the woman, Taji's chocolate brown eyes blazing across her mind.

_"I won't let you down, Biwa-sensei."_

Taji's melodious voice faded like a wind chime's echo as a second knock, a tad louder, resounded from the door.

Biwako shook her head, sliding the file into her desk drawer while calling, "Come in," without looking up.

The door clicked open and intentionally audible footsteps entered the room as it closed. Yet, Biwako couldn't bring herself to look away from the window, the blue sky almost cerulean from the sun's bright saturation.

"Hello, you must be the final applicant for the Apprentice position." She forced herself to face the job-seeker. "As the head of Konoha Hospital, I will be conducting your interview—" She froze, eyes flying open wide at the sight of the child sitting across from her. "Akemi-kun!?"

The Uchiha grinned, nodding. "It's nice to see you, Biwako-sama. How have you been?"

It was rude and unprofessional for a woman of her age and rank to gape so openly, and yet the Sarutobi did, stuttering. "Surely, _you_ are not the final applicant."

Akemi squinted, glancing down at the packet atop a green folder on his lap. "Is there an age limit for the position? I checked, but the application just said it's 'highly recommended' you be sixteen or older, not that it's necessary."

Biwako regained some of her composure. "Yes, but you are required to pass the medical ninjutsu exam prior to your interview."

Akemi blinked, and without looking down, lifted the packet off his lap and slowly slid it over to her side of the desk. She dropped her eyes, and barely reigned in a gasp upon seeing **100%** stamped in red atop the exam, authentic signature of the medic-nin who distributed the test printed next to the score. She also caught sight of the notes in the margin, reading, " **Uchiha Akemi completed his exam in record time and has shown great aptitude in** ", before lifting her gaze.

The boy's smile turned wolfish. "I've also completed the mandatory medic-nin protocol classes at the hospital." He set the green folder on top of the exam. "My grades are beneath my resume."

Biwako opened the folder and skimmed over Akemi's high marks until something paradoxically cold and warm filtered through her heart, and she set it down. For a moment, the Sarutobi could only stare at the youth. Akemi's eyes likening tranquil lakes, features cool and yet unsullied by the arrogance so many of his clan members exhibited. Rather there was kindness curving his lips, deference bowing his head, and determination straightening his spine. If Biwako didn't know better, she'd think Akemi was a henged adult, but he wasn't the first child to stand in her office, brimming with potential.

_"I'll push myself to the limit, and then I'll keep going!"_

Taji, young and pretty in a simple beige dress, stood stiffly at attention in Biwako's office.

The Sarutobi woman, face free of frown lines as she smiled, nodded. "I believe you, Taji-chan."

"I see," Biwako allowed the twenty-year old memory to fade while she regarded Akemi seriously. "In that case, let us move on to the interview." She grabbed an application from out of her desk drawer and set it down. "Why should I accept you as my apprentice?" Her face hardened into granite. "What makes a mere _child_ worthy of such a honorary position?"

Akemi shook his head. "I am not worthy, at least, no more worthy than the dozens of others who applied. However, despite my lack of experience and education in the medical ninjitsu field, under your guidance, I know I can go farther than any other candidate." He nodded towards his folder while the woman jotted his response on the application. "Just read the notes on my exam, I'm on the same level as some trained medic-nin despite being self-taught."

"That maybe so," Biwako interjected sharply, "But it is rare for an Uchiha to train in the medical arts. Would it not bring shame upon your father and your clan to have one of the heirs playing doctor in a hospital?"

"I don't care if it shames my father." Biwako's mask broke slightly, skin crinkling around her eyes from shock, though Akemi's tone was mild. "Being powerful and strong are important in the ninja world, I understand that," his face turned downcast, "But even the best shinobi make mistakes, and when they do, I want to be able to help them." Guilt twisted Akemi's features before he suppressed it. "I don't ever want to be a burden to anyone again. Not like...on that night."

Biwako remembered the pale little boy lying in the grassy field, ash in the air and weeds splashed with blood around him while Taji's body lied beneath splintered wood and concrete pillars behind him.

"—even if my father disapproves," Biwako refocused while Akemi stared her down, "I want to learn medical ninjutsu. I want to be able to protect those who are precious to me." Raw grief burst across the boy's face so suddenly and intensely, Biwako leaned back while Akemi's fingernails bit into his legs. "And if ever my brother should fall," he blinked back tears, "I want to be able to help him stand back up," he vowed.

Biwako observed Akemi in stunned silence for a second. Then a little smile tugged up her lips. "I can't train you."

Akemi's eyes widened, despair crushing the hope in his black orbs.

"Not until you're at least seven." Biwako chuckled at Akemi's shocked expression. "You children these days, you're all so eager to grow up, but I want you to enjoy some time simply being a kid, Akemi-kun." She sighed, turning to the window. "And if you change your mind by the time you are seven-years old, I will not hold it against you."

Akemi shook his head vehemently. "No, Biwako-sama, I won't change my mind."

Sarutobi conceeded. "If that is your wish, then bring me your Academy test scores by the end of the school year. If you are still maintaining the same high level of achievement you've shown so far, I will begin to train you."

The boy stood from his chair and bowed deeply. "I won't let you down, Biwako-sama."

"I believe you," she smiled thinly before dismissing him.

Akemi paused in the doorway, making sure it was still okay for him to visit this weekend and bake mini-cakes at her house. She reassured him, and the child left.

Now alone in her office, Biwako turned to the window and sighed. "He can't replace you, Taji-san, but perhaps, one day, he will surpass us both."

A tear rolled down Biwako's cheek and dribbled onto the desk, staining Akemi's resume.

**.**

Since Biwako's office was on the Hospital's top floor, Akemi took the stairs in the middle of the hall to get down. He was young and fit, far more than he'd been in his first life—he didn't miss being a twig—so was unbothered by the exercise. The boy was, however, disturbed by the dark, twisted _familiar_ chakra suddenly flickering below him.

Akemi stopped behind the stair's support pillar, acutely aware if he rounded the corner the hospital entrance would be in sight, but so would the owner of that chakra who he'd hoped to never cross paths with again.

Yet cross paths they did, Akemi having no time to back away before the man walked up the first flight of stairs and nearly crashed into him.

" _Sorry_ ," Akemi blurted instinctively, mentally smacking himself when he realized in his nervousness he'd apologized in English. "I mean sorry!"

"It's alright, child." Akemi struggled not to flinch as he raised his head and took in the angular face of the man he'd avoided for two years.

"But tell me," Orochimaru's poison yellow eyes flared with interest, "Wherever did you learn to speak Eigoha?"

Akemi's pounding heart drowned out the Sannin's question, so it took him a second to understand Orochimaru was asking how he learned English—or apparently Eigoha as it was called in Katonese.

"I don't really speak it," a wobbly smile split Akemi's face, "I just read about it in a library book. I like reading about other lands and cultures, it's fun," he shrugged.

Orochimaru's mouth fell crooked as he said, "Then you are in luck," Akemi highly doubted that, "There is a shelf in my laboratory full of textbooks on that very subject." A trickle of curiosity welled in Akemi's heart, and it must have showed because Orochimaru's smirk broadened. "I have no interest in such things anymore, but perhaps you can still find use for them. Come." He turned and started up the staircase, his dark blue kimono brushing against Akemi's shoulder. Only now did he realize Orochimaru was dressed casually, his hitai-ate nowhere to be seen. Huh, must be his day off.

"You may explore my bookshelf to your heart's content." Orochimaru craned his neck back, waiting with rapturous attention for Akemi start following him before continuing up the steps. "In fact, you can keep any book that catches your eye."

"Really?" Akemi kept his voice tentatively hopeful as they entered the second floor corridor, scrupulously searching for someone who could get him out of this mess.

Unfortunately, the only other people out in the hall was a receptionist who was focused solely on a Nara man—according to the crest on his back—who set a box of deer antlers on her desk.

Orochimaru stopped at the end of the hall, Akemi's honed reflexes the only thing that prevented them from colliding. Quickly the man's hands blurred through a series of signs, and he placed his hand flat on the door in front of them. Black symbols flashed across the wood—a lock seal—and circled the Sannin's palm until Orochimaru pulled away.

"Go on," Orochimaru turned the knob and stood back with the door, waving Akemi in.

It felt wrong turning his back to a man who was already performing inhumane experiments on children like him, but his brain couldn't conjure an excuse to leave that wouldn't offend the Sannin or make Akemi appear suspicious, so reluctantly he trudged into the dark room.

Orochimaru flicked on the light while the door shut behind him, and Akemi hoped he wasn't purposely standing in front of the room's sole exit.

"The shelf," Orochimaru nodded towards the right and Akemi turned towards the dusty bookshelf smashed into a corner behind him.

Heading towards it, Akemi ignored the jars filled with yellow liquid and bloated organs— _eww!_ —lining the tabletops, as well as the way Orochimaru's eyes tracked him, the man's chakra swirling with curiosity. Strange, he'd only spoken to the man once, and that was years ago, so where was all this interest coming from?

To lessen the awkwardness and perhaps get some answers, Akemi asked, "You're not mad about what I said to you, right?" He stopped by the shelf, reaching up and pulling out a red hardcover textbook by its spine, glancing over the title. _Reptiles Across the World_ —Of course Orochimaru would have this book, _of course._

"Not at all, Akemi-kun." The oily inflection Orochimaru's tongue ran over his name made Akemi's stomach churn. "I always enjoy hearing the thoughts of the youth, your sentiments are so fascinatingly different from the generations that came before you."

Akemi put the textbook back and pulled out a larger white one. He grinned upon seeing it was on world geography, for most of the maps he found at the bookstore focused solely on the Land of Fire's landscape. His smile vanished when he sensed, but didn't hear, Orochimaru approach him, and Akemi acted properly startled when the man spoke from right behind him.

"You're a rare type, Akemi-kun, I can tell." Orochimaru's mouth hovered over Akemi's shoulder and the skin there itched and burned, the six-year old recalling Sasuke's agonized scream as Orochimaru bit the curse mark into his shoulder. "Perhaps a rarer type than your brother."

Akemi barely stopped himself from punching the creep out for mentioning his twin, but sated his blood thirst by remembering the epic beat down Itachi would one day give the Sannin.

"What do you mean?" Akemi turned back, blinking innocently while Orochimaru straightened, chuckling faintly.

"I'm sure you know _exactly_ what I mean." The man tilted his head, examining the six-year old like they were playing poker, and the Sannin had just called Akemi's bluff.

Akemi pulled another book off the shelf, buying time to form a response. What _did_ Orochimaru mean? Had Akemi really intrigued the Sannin this much just from a few sentences he said at Obito's funeral? Or...was it something else?

Akemi's body thrummed with nervous energy, the chakra inside him whirling like a miniature typhoon while every second passing in silence ticked louder and louder in his brain. Maybe it was Orochimaru's dark aura, likening the poisonous smog that hung over a swamp, which was putting him on edge, or simply the fact he was trapped alone in a room with a psychopath, but there was also something about Orochimaru's tone.

His words were taunting, his vague phrasing purposely probing Akemi like he wanted the boy to confirm something Orochimaru already knew was true. Did the Sannin deem him a rare type because of how he spoke and acted...or was it possible the man had figured out Akemi was no normal six-year old? That he didn't belong in Konoha, didn't belong in this ninja world?

Akemi shook his head, but his hands were shaking, so he rushed to grab another book to hide their trembles. However, realizing the silence had carried on too long, Akemi spat out the first thing to come to mind. "You really shouldn't bring little boys alone into your laboratory. It makes you look like a pedophile."

Akemi nearly dropped the books in his hands, eyes widening as he spun around to witness Orochimaru throwing back his head to laugh.

Akemi couldn't get his heart to understand it wasn't running a marathon while Orochimaru's body continued to be racked with his laughter until the man stopped and smirked at Akemi, amusement upturning his mouth. "Is that so?" Orochimaru reached out and patted the wide-eyed Akemi's head, saying, "Sometimes one must do what they want no matter what it makes others think of them."

The six-year old blinked, unable to get his eyes back to normal size until Orochimaru pulled back, and he stuttered. "I-I guess so, Orochimaru-san."

A knock on the lab door interrupted whatever the Sannin planned to do next, and when the man turned and walked over to the entrance, Akemi hurried after him. However, Akemi's jaw dropped when the door opened and Nara Shikaku peered inside. His face was stern, but not unfriendly as he nodded towards Orochimaru, until his eyes landed on Akemi and his expression tightened.

"Ah, I thought that was you I saw in the hall, Akemi-san." Shikaku looked to Orochimaru. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I have a planned shogi match against the squirt behind you."

"Hey!" Akemi stomped his foot, having told the Nara to never call him "squirt". It wasn't his fault he hadn't gone through puberty...again.

"No." Orochimaru smiled, setting his hand on Akemi's back and lightly pushing him forward until the Uchiha stood in the doorway. "Forgive me for making Akemi late, I know you're a busy man." His tone never wavered in its politeness, even as Akemi all but hid behind Shikaku's leg while Orochimaru's golden yellow eyes fell on him. "Keep the books, Akemi-kun, and if you ever seek more of them, my lab will always be open to you."

It was an invitation, served with a smile, but something about it sounded like a promise, and Akemi would have called himself paranoid if he didn't feel the tendons in Shikaku's leg bunching up while Akemi leaned on it.

"Thank you," Akemi mustered up his most sincere grin, and waved goodbye to the Sannin before Shikaku took his hand and led him away.

They were both silent until they reached the staircase, and Shikaku released his hand, grumbling. "Troublesome, so troublesome."

"Hey," Akemi glared at him, "I didn't ask you to lie to him."

"But you wanted me too." Shikaku crossed his arms, frowning like he was irate, though his voice held concern as he asked, "You alright?"

Akemi nodded, and the Nara's eyes lost their intensity while he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Good, now let's head to my place, you owe me two hours of babysitting for this."

Akemi nearly missed a step as he blanched. "W-what!?" He appeared horrified. "But Shikamaru always looks at me like he's plotting something!"

Shikaku shrugged. "He probably is, but he's a Nara so he's too lazy to act on it."

**.**

The school year drifted past until over half of it was gone.

The curriculum never improved or provided the challenge Itachi longed for, in fact, classes only became easier over time. Although, this may have been due to the lack of girls breathing down Itachi's neck, the row he and Akemi sat in now only occupied by the two of them along with Izumi, and occasionally Inuzuka Hana who was far more reasonable than the majority of his female classmates.

It might also have to do with how fast and far the rumor of La Chancla had spread. Itachi didn't even know she was feared by anyone outside of his class until three boys suddenly latched onto him in the hallway and cowered behind him. Before Itachi could react, the scent of smoke tingled his nose and a sharp clacking sound erupted from the school entrance.

"It's La Chancla!" An older boy screamed, waving wildly at the front door that was now covered in gray wisps—smoke bombs?—before fleeing into the nearest classroom.

"She's taken the form of a shoe!" The sandy-haired boy wielding Itachi like a shield—Saisu, wasn't it?—wailed while out of the smoke a pair of white sandals appeared.

They were floating, seemingly rising and falling against the wooden floorboards like an invisible being walked in them, but when Itachi side-eyed his brother, he noticed Akemi's fingers twitching every time "La Chancla" moved.

Itachi was going to tell Akemi he was going overboard and kindly ask him to stop, but then one of the sandals flew towards Saisu's face and instincts kicked in.

Itachi chopped down on the sandal so hard it crashed into a wall, chipping some of the paint off it right as the second sandal fell from above like an anvil, only for Itachi to drive a kunai through it before it could touch him.

The sandal snapped in two, its pieces skidding onto opposite sides of the hall. Itachi turned to Akemi who was feigning surprise at the sight while the boys released him, the brunet cheering. "You saved us, Itachi-kun!"

The boy's eyes shimmered with starlight while Itachi balked at the familiar honorific suddenly attached to his name. "Kun?"

The larger brunet corrected him. "That was amazing, Itachi-san!"

"San?" Itachi's forehead scrunched up, the boy wondering why his status was elevating while mild heat spread across his cheeks.

"Move it, move it! Itachi-sama is coming through!" Saisu waved off the mob suddenly streaming out the classrooms and trying to surround Itachi, who was too stunned to react. Soon so much praise was being thrown Itachi's way he couldn't even hear his own thoughts until the three boys formed a protective circle around him, forcing their way through the crowd of amazed students and confused teachers investigating the commotion.

Itachi ducked his head to hide his embarrassment as the three boys told everyone Itachi had slayed La Chancla and her reign of terror was over.

"Good job," Itachi peered through his bangs at Akemi who suddenly hugged his arm and revealed his canines as he smirked, "Nii- _sama_."

Itachi wanted very much to go home after that.

Thankfully the school bell rang and everyone left, except for the three boys who Akemi claimed was now their posse. Weeks later Akemi would turn out to be correct as the same trio of boys followed Itachi everywhere, from homeroom to target practice. Even when Itachi didn't speak a word to them, the minute the boys spotted him they would circle around him and wave away anyone who got too close.

Itachi got used to, for the boys were rather good at shooing away girls and bullies alike, and they never really interfered with Itachi outside of class. Though they offered to hang out after school, Itachi always politely declined. Socializing was proving to be the hardest part of the Academy, a sentiment Akemi seemed to share, as his twin looked visibly relieved he no longer had to talk so much to block out their classmates.

Itachi felt guilty, knowing Akemi had mostly done so for his sake, and to make it up to him, asked his twin to join him on a hike to the borders of Konoha. His twin enthusiastically agreed, the drained look leaving his face as he stocked his backpack with supplies. Soon they were off, their packs secured with straps over their chest while they followed the worn dirt path through the forest, light beaming down on them through the thick tree leaves above. Akemi was quiet, never complaining about the journey's length although it took hours, and stopping only when he spotted pomegranate-colored irises on the side of the trail. He picked up a bundle, setting them in his backpack's side pocket and claiming they were for Mother. Before Itachi could turn away, he slipped one into Itachi's hair, joking that purple complimented him.

After that, his twin was silent until they reached their destination.

Akemi took off his backpack and settled it in the expansive field of tall grass while Itachi walked up to a towering rock with bold red kanji stamped on it, reading **SHINOBI**. Itachi pressed his hand against the cool stone while the wind ran through his hair.

What was a shinobi?

The literal definition he found in a dictionary—One Who Endures—didn't seem to encompass the full meaning, was perhaps just the beginning of the meaning.

"Why don't you ask me?"

Itachi looked over his shoulder to see Akemi sitting cross-legged in the field by his backpack, fingering blades of grass. He looked up. "Why don't you ever ask me those big questions that trouble you, Nii-san?"

Itachi didn't question how Akemi knew what he was thinking, whether his foresight showed him or he simply knew Itachi that well.

He walked over to Akemi and shed his own backpack, sitting beside him. While Akemi twirled a blade between his fingers, Itachi said, "Because," Akemi looked up and Itachi grinned, "I already know your answers."

_"What is the meaning of life?"_

Itachi asked the Snake Sannin who stood in the aisle between the grave markers, both of them dressed in black clothes of mourning.

Yet, Orochimaru was not frowning, there wasn't even a quiet air of somberness cloaking the man like everybody else attending Obito's funeral. Maybe that was why Itachi came to him, seeking a new kind of answer to the question plaguing his four-year old brain.

"There is no meaning." Orochimaru's mouth quirked up in grim humor. "There's meaning in life if it's eternal."

"That's a paradox."

Orochimaru turned as did Itachi to find Akemi standing a few feet behind his twin, his eyes shimmering. Though he hadn't shed any tears in his presence, Itachi knew his brother was hurting over the loss of their cousin.

"You said grieving the dead was meaningless," Akemi's voice teemed with an ocean of feelings, "But you also said there's meaning in eternal life." His eyes were beseeching as he explained. "When we grieve the dead, we recall the memories we have of them, and share those memories with other people. We tell our families, our kids...and when our kids grow up, they tell their kids, and the same thing happens again and again. So in a way, doesn't grieving the dead make the dead eternal?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, though he didn't seem upset as Akemi continued.

"And if the dead are eternal because we grieve, doesn't that make grieving meaningful?" Akemi came up to his brother's side.

Orochimaru eyed them both, something like approval flashing over his face before he turned, and without a word, left.

"Don't trust that man, Nii-san."

Itachi spun back, surprised to see Akemi had already moved away and was heading back to their parents.

"He's a viper." Akemi glared at the ground. "And we're nothing but rats to him," he clenched his fists.

_"Birth...death...birth...death... Life is a battle."_

They went on a class field trip to a little patch of forest surrounded by a chainlink fence. Their homeroom teacher opened the gate while the students stood in groups of four, and the man explained. "You all have one hour to hunt, capture, and kill one rabbit. Teams will be graded on speed and effectiveness while working together." He held up a silver stopwatch and clicked the start button. "You may now begin."

Itachi and his posse had been grouped together, so he only caught a glimpse of Akemi heading into the foliage before his twin disappeared alongside his own team.

Itachi quickly did the same, locating rabbit tracks in the mud by the riverbank and following them to a burrow beside some gnarled tree roots. The task was completed with a single toss of a kunai, the metal embedding itself in the young hare's chest the second he hopped out of his burrow. Itachi's teammates praised him and the teacher smiled since they were the first ones finished.

While they waited by the entrance, Itachi wrapped the dead rabbit in a thick cloth provided by the teacher who said they could take whatever they caught home for food. Itachi's teammates had insisted he keep it, and Itachi saw no reason to waste the animal, so he did.

However, Itachi was surprised when no other team returned fifty minutes into the one hour limit, the teacher glancing down at his stopwatch worriedly before eyeing the gateway.

Yet, after another ten minutes passed, the rest of the students showed up with heads bowed and disgruntled or disappointed expressions. All of them, empty-handed.

"What!?" The teacher blinked rapidly, stepping back while the gaggle of students insisted they couldn't find any rabbits, only some paw prints and empty burrows.

The teacher rubbed the back of his head, muttering. "But I released ten of them in there this morning..." He dropped his hand, and raising his voice, said, "Sorry, kids, there must be a hole in the fence the rabbits escaped through. All of you, excluding the group who succeeded, will have to be tested at a later time."

They were dismissed soon after, and Itachi made his way to Akemi only for his twin to grab his hand and yank him into a run.

"Akemi?" He asked, startled, but his brother didn't look back as they ran in the opposite direction of the Uchiha district.

It wasn't long until they reached the edge of a forest beside the public training grounds, but Akemi didn't so much as slow until they were mere inches from a tree.

Itachi blinked curiously while Akemi dropped to one knee and gently pulled his rather bloated satchel to sit in front of him. The eldest gasped when part of the satchel suddenly jutted out as if something had punched it from the inside.

"Sorry, guys, I know it was a bumpy ride." Akemi flipped open the flap and a brown bunny immediately sprang out, soon followed by a white and speckled one.

Itachi watched stiffly as Akemi carefully tilted his bag and more and more bunnies spilled out onto the grass, raising their pink noses to sniff the air before fleeing into the forest.

" _Hasta luego_!" Akemi waved at the last and smallest rabbit who stared up at him a moment, its nose twitching, before it too hopped into the forest.

"Sorry for the detour, Nii-san." Akemi rose from the ground, dusting off his pants. "We can head home now."

Itachi observed his brother for a long moment, then shook his head. "Not yet."

Akemi frowned, puzzled. "Why?"

Itachi pulled out the deceased rabbit he caught and offered the bundle to his brother. "We should bury him."

Akemi's eyes expanded, lips parting while he silently gasped. "Yeah..." Slowly, he accepted the bundle. "Yeah, we should."

Itachi found a patch of soil softened by the earlier rainfall and used his kunai to dig a shallow grave in it. Akemi was silent as he set the rabbit in and used his hands to cover the hole. Itachi said a few words of prayer, and they left.

Akemi ducked his head. "Thank you," he whispered.

Itachi didn't reply, just caught Akemi's dirt crusted wrist and led him home.

_"What does it mean to be a shinobi?"_

Shock wove into Akemi's expression, but soon his lips hitched up on one side and he asked, "Am I becoming predictable?" He leaned against Itachi's side, settling his chin on his shoulder. "Guess I'll have to try harder, somebody's got to keep you on your toes."

Itachi smiled briefly before raising his gaze skyward. The wind was pushing the clouds over them, blocking the sun and leaving them in shade.

Itachi still hadn't decided what being a shinobi meant, but his brother's beliefs were clear.

_Life is meaningful when you spend it with those you cherish._

Itachi ran a hand through his hair, fingering the iris.

_All life is precious._

He picked the flower out.

_A shinobi is someone who has the strength to protect life..._

He watched its petals fluttering in the breeze.

_...or end it._

He let it go and the wind carried it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support, everyone! I appreciate all your comments, even if I don't always have time to respond, and I hope everyone is finding this story enjoyable :)
> 
> Next time, Fugaku does some investigating...


	5. Remains

The city of Sora-ku had a strange hold on Itachi's brother. The first time Akemi spotted its steel buildings and gray edifices in the distance, the three-year old had froze in the middle of the concrete path, his eyes big and round.

Itachi stopped, asked if he was alright, but Akemi just shook his head like one shook off a bad dream and pressed his lips shut tight before picking up the pace to catch up with Father.

Akemi's actions only grew stranger once they actually entered the crumbling, desolate city, his twin running past their parent to slap his hands against the side of a towering office building.

" _It's a city...an actual city!_ " Akemi had exhaled in an unfamiliar tongue, voice trembling. " _It's like I'm...home..._ " Longing and awe strangled his speech as he stared at his reflection in the metal wall.

Father sent Akemi a concerned look before saying they didn't have time for sightseeing.

His brother's shoulders drooped, Akemi's head hanging low while he pulled away from the building.

Gloom shrouded his twin from thereafter, which did not go unnoticed by Father. Maybe that was why the man hastened the introduction between his sons and Nekobaa at the supplies shop. Afterwards, leading the twins deeper into the city until they reached a little store sitting on a street corner.

Its windows were grimy and gray, old newspapers cluttering its doorway, but inside the shelves were cramped with a rainbow spectrum of candy and other treats. A jukebox by the counter played a cheery tune while Father bought Itachi some dango and Akemi a strawberry popsicle, and once they left, the man pretended not to notice Akemi slowing them down as he hung back to snap photos of the city until the dusky skyline was miles behind them.

Father hadn't journeyed to Sora-ku for over a year now, too preoccupied with clan business in Konoha. He started sending Itachi and Akemi in his stead once they turned five, which made Father's declaration over the dinner table rather meaningful since the clan head planned to join his sons on their trip to the city this weekend.

"You have brought great honor to the clan with your academic success," the lines over Fugaku's mouth smoothed out in a rare grin, "Since your graduation is coming up, now is the time to prepare for the trials awaiting you as a genin."

Itachi, stoic, nodded. Inside though, he was warmed from head to toe that his father was going out of his way to help him pick out a suitable weapon from the supplies shop. At least until he caught sight of Akemi's paling face, and remembered what happened the last time they traveled to Sora-ku.

Itachi had been setting curved kunai on a black tarp lying on the tunnel floor. He carefully bundled the items together and tied the resulting roll with ninja wire before placing it in a burlap sack. He was standing the bag against the wall beside two others when a brown ninja cat wearing a sky blue kimono strutted over.

"Denka," Itachi inclined his head. "Please tell Nekobaa my father will pay off our debts next month."

Denka's furry lip peeled back in an imitation of a human grin, and he flapped his paw dismissively. "Hai, hai," the feline turned towards the bags, "Will you really be alright carrying these by yourself?"

Itachi smiled a little. "Actually, I'm not—"

"Am I late!?" Akemi came skidding to a stop in front of them, camera hanging around his neck bouncing with the momentum. "Sorry, I lost track of time!" He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

Itachi shook his head. "No, you're right on time."

"Ahh," Akemi started when Denka's bushy tail brushed against his bare ankle, the cat sitting at his feet, "I see you've summoned another shadow clone to aid you," the feline nodded in approval.

Itachi and Akemi blinked twice.

A beat of silence passed before Itachi murmured. "Another?"

"You think I'm his shadow clone!?" Akemi's mouth fell open, astonishment deepening the crevices of his face. "Wait, wait," he stared down Denka, who was beginning to look uncertain, "You thought I was a shadow clone this _whole_ time?" He frowned at the ground, rubbing his chin. "But my biology tetxbook says even identical twins have slightly different chakra signatures."

Denka reeled back, his fur rising. "You are twins?" His tail swished agitatedly while he stepped back on all fours, shaking his head. "No, no, that cannot be."

Itachi tensed and Akemi's head whipped up, their eyes widening as Denka glared at Akemi. "Your chakra... I can sense it now..." His voice cooled with cold fury. "No human could maintain so much..."

The twins made fast eye contact, but couldn't do more before a tidal wave of killing intent crashed into them.

"Serpent!" Denka stretched out like a panther, unsheathing his razor sharp claws to the twins' horror. "Did you think I would be fooled, _deceived_?"

Akemi fell back against the tunnel wall, knees buckling and face gray. His mouth opened and closed with two false starts before he managed. "What are you talking ab—"

"This is not your true form!" Sweat broke out across Akemi's forehead, the six-year old's eyes wider than moons while the cat stalked towards him. "You... _youuu_..." Denka's hiss crescendoed into a roar, and then he was airborne, claws aimed at Akemi's chest.

The attack struck true, Akemi screaming soundlessly as Denka's claws raked through his shirt, tearing skin and shedding blood.

The boy sank against the wall while the cat launched himself back, landing in a predatory crouch a yard away. Only to hiss with displeasure when Akemi popped in a puff of smoke, leaving a broken log in his place.

The real Akemi stood by the exit, wide-eyed as Itachi dragged him out the passage by his elbow and slammed the metal door shut behind them.

Worry and confusion battled for dominance on Itachi's face while Akemi released a ragged breath, neither boy quite able to process that Denka—playful, peaceable Denka—had tried to tear Akemi to pieces.

"Why?"

Itachi gripped Akemi's arm tighter as his brother bowed his head, bangs shadowing his expression. "Why do they all hate me?"

Itachi didn't know what to say. He'd never heard of a summon attacking someone without provocation. Yet, this wasn't the first time Akemi's encounter with a summon went wrong. Itachi witnessed the phenomenon himself a couple of months ago.

He'd been practicing evasive maneuvers with his crow Yuri when Akemi entered the field to pass on a message, only to nearly lose his eye as Yuri swooped down on his face. Itachi immediately called her to his arm, and the crow obeyed, but Yuri had bristled the entire time Akemi was there. Later that night, Akemi told him a similar incident occurred when he first met Kakashi's dog summon, Pakkun, who tackled him to the floor before the Hatake managed to wrangle the hound.

Itachi was perplexed, especially since none of the summons ever explained _why_ they hated his twin.

Akemi sighed. "You should go back," he pulled away and Itachi reluctantly let him go, "You can probably still take the supplies."

Itachi heard the unspoken— _It's me they hate_ —but couldn't honestly disagree. Still, he felt horrible leaving Akemi alone on the street, so rushed to retrieve the supply sacks. He found them where he left them, no Denka in sight, and quickly dragged them across the floor and out the door.

When he returned, Akemi was in the same spot Itachi had left him, staring down at his hands like he'd never seen them before.

Like they were something that just didn't belong.

**.**

"Stay behind me," Itachi whispered as they traversed the dimly-lit passage connected to the supplies shop.

Akemi slowed without protest, Itachi's body shielding him from view while his eyes scanned the area anxiously.

Neither of them could convince Father to leave Akemi at home, their parent insisting they might need an extra hand to carry gear. The siblings would have kept trying to convince him, but their father started getting suspicious so they'd given up quickly.

Thus, they had all traveled to Sora-ku, Akemi's lips locking and nerves undoubtedly worsening every time Fugaku sent a narrow-eyed look back at him while they leapt through the forest.

Itachi himself wasn't feeling too good as they entered the shop's foyer, but his fear abated somewhat when Nekobaa didn't even glance at him or Akemi before scowling at their father. "So the great clan head has finally decided to grace us with his presence?" The old woman's mouth twisted around her pipe, her displeasure clear.

Fugaku had the decency to look abashed. "Ah, well, I've been busy—"

"Excuses, excuses!" Nekobaa whipped the pipe out of her mouth and jabbed it in his direction. "Interest rates have gone up since you last came here, Fugaku," she glowered, "I hope you can deliver."

Itachi wondered if Nekobaa had known his father back when he was a child, and if that was why she spoke so candidly with him.

This thought faded when three of the cats lounging around the old woman got up and jogged over to him, eager for petting.

Akemi's breath hitched as the cats curled around their feet, the boy latching onto the back of Itachi's shirt.

"It's okay," Itachi craned his neck back, voice low. "They're not ninja cats."

Akemi released him immediately, pink coloring his cheeks. "O-oh."

"Why would ninja cats concern you?"

Itachi and Akemi stiffened, the eldest swiveling around to see their father looming over them with Nekobaa nowhere in sight. The old woman must have left to fetch the latest weapons from the back room.

"Itachi?" Fugaku crossed his arms, tone demanding an explanation.

Itachi didn't let his apprehension show, though his mind was scrambling for an excuse. He didn't want to lie to his father, but knew the man wouldn't handle the truth well. At best, Fugaku would consider the summons' reactions to Akemi another failing on Akemi's part, something that made his twin lesser than Itachi. More likely, however, the truth would elevate Fugaku's suspicious, and while Itachi wasn't exactly sure what their father would do, he was certain whatever he did would lead to Akemi suffering.

"I'm allergic to them."

Itachi turned to his brother who was staring morosely at the floor.

"Allergic?" Fugaku raised a single brow, unconvinced.

Akemi looked up to meet his eyes, pouting like he'd eaten something sour. "I didn't want to tell you because I can't explain it, but I think I'm allergic to animal summons." He stooped down and took a calico cat into his arms, stroking her back as he rose. "I'm not allergic to regular animals," the calico rubbed her face against Akemi's collar bone, purring as if to emphasize his point, "But I had a bad reaction to the ninja cats last time I was here."

Fugaku grunted. "Then why didn't you have a reaction the first time I brought you here?"

Akemi shrugged. "Some allergies develop over time." He started scratching the calico behind her ears.

Fugaku regarded Akemi coolly, but Itachi let himself hope. Akemi's lie was good, sprinkled with truth, and if believed might convince their father to allow Akemi to avoid summons from now on. Problem solved.

Nekobaa returned, wooden box in her hands rattling with the tools inside. "Here's the latest shipment of kunai and shuriken. We also have swords that enhance fire release—"

A low growl erupted behind her.

Akemi dropped the calico, startled, and the feline yelped in surprise, though she landed on all fours.

Itachi angled himself in front of his brother while Denka and Hina appeared by Nekobaa's feet, their teeth bared and ears peeled back as they glared daggers at Akemi.

Fugaku blinked, and Nekobaa's brow furrowed, the woman following their line of vision over to Akemi who had lost two shades of color.

"Imposter," Denka hissed.

"Fraud!" Hina spat.

Akemi stepped back twice, each insult striking him like a physical blow. Yet, faster than Itachi could move, Father appeared behind them and caught Akemi's shoulder.

"Itachi," Fugaku stared down Akemi, who had froze beneath his hand, "Pick whatever weapon you want. We will wait for you outside."

Panic bloomed across Akemi's face, and Itachi reached for him. "Tou-san, he—"

Fugaku vanished in a whirl of leaves, his brother disappeared with him, and Itachi's arm fell, uselessly.

**.**

The two Uchiha reappeared in the tunnel, Fugaku releasing the boy whose face had turned green.

"Ughh..." Akemi clutched his stomach, staggering over to the wall and leaning his hand against it. "You could have warned me, Tou-san." He swallowed the bile crawling up his throat, scowling at Fugaku. "You know how shunshin effects me."

"What are you?"

Akemi's hand arched along the wall, nails scraping at the dust and eyes widening under the cover of shadows. Slowly, he straightened, releasing his stomach and cautiously turning to Fugaku.

The man was staring at him, features devoid of emotion, and something cold hardening his eyes.

"What?" Akemi exhaled, voice small and frail. Quickly, however, his eyes crinkled with a grin and he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, you caught me, I'm not really allergic to summons. It's more like they're allergic to me—"

In a burst of smoke, five hawks appeared on the ground between them, Fugaku rising from where he'd summoned them faster than Akemi could blink.

"What is it?" Fugaku asked the hawks in a monotone, and it took Akemi a minute to realize he was the "it".

A sudden chill spread across Akemi's chest, freezing his heart and turning it into glass. "Tou-san..."

The man ignored him, attention solely on the birds who were scrutinizing Akemi, their sharp gazes pinning the boy in place.

"This chakra..." The largest hawk spoke, his gray plumage matching his wise, aged voice. "It's..." Akemi stepped backwards, anticipating another attack, but his back hit the wall and he realized he was cornered. "It's not human."

Akemi flinched while the other hawks circled him, extending their wings to their fullest span and a couple even taking flight to assess him from above.

"I..." Akemi grappled with his tongue, forcing speech over the lump in his throat. "I don't know what you're talking abo—"

"Lie!" A beady-eyed hawk squawked from the floor.

Akemi shook his head. "No, really, I don't—"

"It's not human," the gray hawk asserted, narrowing its dark eyes.

Sweat accumulated along Akemi's forehead, and he said, "No, I am human."

"Not true." An ebony hawk perched on Fugaku's shoulder, the man a stone statue.

Akemi jerked his head in negation. "No, I am. I am hu—"

"Lie!" The beady-eyed hawk stared up at Akemi with all the judgment of a court jury certain of their conviction.

Akemi scowled if only to hide how his heart was beating louder than a stampede. "No, please, just tell me why you think I—"

A red hawk nipped Akemi's ankle and he yelped, his leg kicking out, but the hawks on the floor took flight to avoid it.

"Lie, lie," the beady-eyed bird taunted, every bat of its wings splitting the air like thunder.

Akemi's fists clenched, his eyes squeezing close. "I am not—"

"I'll ask you again."

Akemi's eyes popped open as Fugaku's dark orbs turned red in the beginnings of his Sharingan. "What are you?"

Akemi faltered, and the hawks above screeched. "Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie!"

The boy's lips quivered, and he cried. "I'm your son!"

Fugaku just stared at him.

Akemi pushed off the wall, his hand slapping over his heart. "I am Uchiha Akemi," he declared, his eyes gaining a wet sheen, "Your son," he intoned.

Fugaku's irises faded to black, a world-weary look pinching his face before apathy took its place. "No." The tunnel walls seemed to cave around Akemi as the man concluded. "You are not my son."

The finality of his statement punched the air from Akemi's lungs, the boy wheezing while clear liquid pooled in his eyes. Then he was gone, bolting out the corridor and slamming open the front door, running until his little body was swallowed up by the sun's pale light.

Fugaku didn't call him back, even as Itachi came rushing over, a brand new tanto strapped in a sheath slung over his back. "Tou-san? Where's Akemi? I heard the front door slam—" He suddenly noticed the hawk summons, and fear trickled over his visage, his dread expediting when he spotted drops of _blood_ splattered on the floor. Above them a little handprint sat in the dust on the wall while ahead the front door stood ajar.

Itachi raised his head, skin around his eyes strained with horror, and he didn't so much as acknowledge his father before taking off towards the exit.

"Akemi!" Itachi shouted, call echoing through the empty city while he scanned the region, smog above casting shade across the landscape and making it hard to spot the dark-clothed boy speeding out through Sora-ku's rust red gates.

Itachi surged after his twin, not bothering to call again since Akemi was nearly half a mile ahead. Rather, he pushed himself to his top speed, blurring through the gateway right as Akemi reached the forest edge and leapt onto his first tree branch.

Itachi gained on him, reaching the same tree in under a minute and hurtling through the treetops fast enough to create wind turbulence. His catching up wasn't due to personal skill so much as the fact Akemi wasn't looking before he leapt, his twin's head bowed while he stumbled upon every landing. Therefore, it wasn't surprising when Akemi finally dropped on a branch, misstepped, and fell, plunging to the earth.

"Akemi!" Itachi shouted because his brother was falling like a bird without wings, making no moves to brace himself for the impact, and Itachi was still yards away—it was going to be close!

Itachi dove off the tree, descending at an angle while Akemi's slack body dropped to the earth a few feet ahead. He landed in a roll, rapidly uncurling just in time to catch his twin. The impact sent them into a skid, Itachi's arms locking around Akemi as dirt was tossed up around them and browned the air. Soon they slowed to a halt, Itachi sucking in a deep breath since the wind had been knocked out of him, and promptly falling into a coughing fit from the dust while Akemi laid prone on his chest.

"Akemi?" Itachi sat up, stifling his coughs and pulling his brother up with him.

"I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home—" Akemi repeated in a frenzy, so softly Itachi could barely hear him.

"Akem—"

Akemi lurched up, crystal rivers running down his face, and _Sharingan_ eyes a stunning gold.

Itachi gasped.

"Why can't I go home already!?" Akemi wailed, burying his head in Itachi's shoulder and gripping the front of his shirt.

Itachi hugged him back instinctively, but his mind was a thousand miles away, for Akemi had the Sharingan, and it was no _normal_ Sharingan. Two black tomoe swirled in Akemi's golden irises, so brilliant a shade even the skin around Akemi's eyes were outlined in gold.

Akemi's sobs intensified, piercing the air, and Itachi choked down the questions flooding his throat. Akemi was crying, and he had _never_ cried in front of Itachi before, so _this_ was more important than anything.

"Shhh," Itachi tightened their embrace, standing up himself and his twin.

Akemi sagged against him, crying wretchedly while Itachi shushed him again.

"I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home already!" Akemi wailed into Itachi's shoulder, and the eldest frantically searched his mind for guidance, not stopping until he remembered how Akemi comforted Sasuke back when their little brother first started teething. Akemi used to stay up all night, rocking Sasuke and saying—

"Cálmate," Itachi articulated the best he could, though the syllables tied his tongue in knots.

Akemi stilled, quieting, and Itachi took it as a good sign. He cupped the back of Akemi's hair, stroking it as he repeated. "Cálmate...Hermanito."

Akemi went silent, his hands falling from where he balled up Itachi's shirt to hang loosely at his sides.

"I'll get you home." Itachi promised.

Akemi didn't reply, but didn't fight it either as Itachi readjusted his body to rest along his back while he gripped Akemi under his knees. "Hold on."

Itachi waited for Akemi to wind his arms around his neck before leaping into the air, pushing himself to his limits once more as he sped through the trees. Every second was an hour, his every breath like inhaling fire. Yet it couldn't have taken more than thirty minutes to reach Konoha.

The two guards at the gate were shocked, but quickly grew concerned once they fully took in Itachi's appearance. He was panting, dirt and sweat and his brother's tears staining his clothes, and perhaps a twig or two sticking out of his hair. His arms were trembling, sore from carrying his brother for half an hour without break.

"Please, let us through," Itachi said once he caught his breath, his skin clammy from the wind he created while dashing through the trees.

One guard approached, reached out, but aborted the motion when Itachi stepped back instinctively to shield Akemi. "Are you two okay? Where's your parents?" He searched behind them, his hand fingering his weapons pouch. "Were you attacked?"

"No," Itachi rushed, aches and pains catching up to him now that he wasn't moving, "My brother isn't feeling well, I need to get him home."

The guard blinked, but only took one look at Akemi, who likely looked as bad as Itachi, before nodding. They let them in and Itachi shot off to the rooftops, tiles and cement blurring beneath his sandals and oxygen scalding his lungs. Yet Itachi didn't stop until they were on the doorstep of their house.

He nudged the door open, not bothering to take off his shoes before entering the living room. "Kaa-san?"

From the staircase came a creak, and Itachi looked up to see his surprised mother on the steps.

"Itachi?" She quickly noticed the lack of Father before seeing Akemi.

Her eyes widened, and Itachi explained. "Akemi isn't feeling well, so I brought him home."

It wasn't a lie. Itachi honestly didn't know what had led Akemi to such a state.

He suddenly recalled the blood on the floor and Father's cold expression, but didn't dare analyze the memory while Mother rushed over and bent down in front of him. She held out her hands, and Itachi hesitated, but soon slid his brother off his back and into Mother's waiting arms. Akemi sniffled, but didn't speak as he twined his arms around Mother's neck and hid his face in her collarbone.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Mikoto asked, cradling Akemi to her bosom. "Does your stomach hurt? Do you feel sick?" She turned, heading back up the stairs and leaving her eldest to watch until she disappeared from view.

Itachi felt useless, useless and foolish. His brother was hurting, and Itachi had allowed him to be hurt, left him alone with Father when he _knew_ something would happen—

A little body crashed into Itachi's leg, short arms curling around his calves.

"You're back! You're back!" Sasuke rubbed his face against Itachi's leg much like Nekobaa's cats had done earlier. "Missed you!" Sasuke's rosy cheeks dimpled as he beamed up at Itachi.

The eldest smiled, patting the toddler's head and causing Sasuke to wriggle with pleasure. "I missed you too," he said simply.

Sasuke let him go and tugged at his shorts. "Play! Let's play!"

Itachi's smile fell, his eyes darting up to where his mother and twin disappeared.

Sasuke tugged at his shorts again, his onyx eyes glimmering like starlight. "Play, pleeease?"

Itachi looked down, face creasing with fondness. "Okay, Sasuke." The toddler lit up, his body shaking with anticipation. "Let's play catch outside."

"Yay!" Sasuke grabbed his hand, his little fingers engulfed in Itachi's, and ran to the front door, bouncing with every step. Itachi let him lead, wishing all of life's problems could be solved so easily.

**.**

Shikaku left a meeting among his fellow clan heads, his brain buzzing with thoughts of the war on the horizon, when he spotted a tiny toddler standing in the middle of the darkened hallway.

He paused, wondering why a child was alone in the Hokage Tower at the same time he noticed the Uchiha crest on the front of the toddler's navy blue shirt.

"Shikaku-san!" The child pointed directly at him, his childish slur prevalent. "Me...you...shogi!" His cheeks puffed in determination, black eyes remarkably intense for someone who couldn't be older than one.

Shikaku lifted a brow, easily deciphering the broken Katonese. "You want to play shogi with me?"

The toddler bobbed his head, cheeks still puffed and finger held high.

Shikaku wondered if this was a joke, but Uchiha were not known to be pranksters and he sensed no one close enough to watch this potential joke unfold.

Deciding to take the challenge seriously then, Shikaku asked, "You know how to play shogi?"

The child's stance didn't change as he proclaimed. "Nope!"

Shikaku blinked, expression blanking.

The child gazed back.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Shikaku sighed. "Okay," he grasped the back of his neck, massaging the nerves there, "How about I teach you how to play shogi first, and then we can play?"

Akemi, pointer finger still raised, blinked. "...Good idea..."

They walked out the Tower together, the toddler struggling to keep up with Shikaku's pace though the man was walking purposely slow, when a voice cut through the nighttime silence. "Akemi?"

Across the road under a streetlamp stood Uchiha Fugaku, appearing shocked before he strode over to them, and Shikaku suddenly noticed the tear troughs on both Uchiha's faces.

"Ah, this must be one of your sons." Shikaku was glad since he was going to walk the child back to the Uchiha district himself, and that would have been troublesome.

"Yes," Fugaku picked up his son, and the child rolled his eyes. "This is Akemi, my second, who has a terrible tendency to wander and..." A disturbed look crossed Fugaku's face, as if the man was remembering a brutal crime scene. "Do other odd things..."

Shikaku's lips flicked up and he drily asked, "Like what? Rise at the crack of dawn, read the morning paper and sip a cup of coffee?"

"You've seen it too!?" Fugaku suddenly gripped Shikaku's shoulder, wild-eyed as he invaded the Nara's personal space. "I-I tried telling Mikoto, but she said Akemi was just imitating me and it was normal for children to imitate their parents!"

Shikaku's mouth parted in shock, the man having never seen the Uchiha so frantic. "I, uh, wasn't being serious," he got out eventually, and Fugaku quickly released him, shifting back.

"Oh... Yes, yes, of course." Fugaku regained his composure, smoothing down his hair. "Well, I thank you for finding my son, Shikaku-san." He nodded. "Goodnight," he turned and left.

"Bye-bye!" Akemi waved from where he was slung over Fugaku's shoulder, and Shikaku waved back.

The Nara carried on home, Akemi's face following him all the way to bed. It was his eyes, Shikaku eventually realized what he was fixated on, those endlessly black eyes full of intellect and comprehension Shikaku had only ever seen in the young children of his clan.

"Huh," Shikaku chuckled. "Maybe he's got a bit of Nara in him."

The next time he saw Akemi, Shikaku answered a knock on his door and found no one outside until he looked down.

Akemi, with a booklet tucked under his arm, beamed. "Shogi!"

Shikaku glanced around, but seeing no Fugaku, asked, "Do your parents know where you are?"

Akemi inclined his head. "Yes..." His forehead knitted together, mouth moving soundlessly while he practiced his pronunciation before saying, "I leave note."

Shikaku hoped his calligraphy was better than his speech as he allowed the boy entry into his home. Yoshino peeked out the kitchen, and upon seeing Akemi, immediately came over and crouched down to pinch the boy's cheeks.

"Aren't you just the cutest?" she cooed.

Akemi, face smushed together, managed to sound serious. "That is...debatable. I have twin, so he have equal cute."

Shikaku's eyes narrowed. That level of rationale shouldn't be possible for an one-year old, not even Nara children were so cognitive at his age.

His wife noticed too, but continued to fawn over Akemi until the boy went to grab the shogi board off the bookshelf. As the child placed it on the porch, Yoshino shot Shikaku a questioning look. He shrugged, and she frowned, but let the matter drop while Shikaku sat across from Akemi.

"I try reading it," Akemi slipped the shogi instruction manual out from under his arm, "Too many big words." He held it out over the board and Shikaku accepted it. "Can you give definition of words underlined?"

Shikaku leafed through the booklet, eyes widening at the amount of kanji highlighted with green marker on every page.

"I can't read good," Akemi pulled out a tiny notebook and pen from his shorts pocket, "But I understand what you say."

Shikaku memorized all the highlighted words and set the book down, folding his arms. "It would take hours for me to define them all," he sighed.

Akemi cocked his eyebrow in challenge, clicking his pen and holding it over his notebook as he huffed. "Then we better start now."

Shikaku, curiosity piqued, smirked. "Trouble, that's what you are, right, kid?"

"Something like that." Akemi's smile grew razor sharp.

Shikaku did not see Konoha or Akemi for some time, too embroiled in the depths of the Third Shinobi War. By the time he did, the boy was now two, and just as eager as ever to have a shogi match against him.

"I brought my big brother, this is Itachi." Akemi strained to push a white stroller through the door since it was taller than him, his twin sitting inside it and glancing at the interior of Shikaku's house.

Shikaku noted the idle curiosity on Itachi's face, and was struck by the utter lack of recognition or care the boy displayed towards his surroundings. Only now upon seeing a face identical to Akemi's did Shikaku realize just how vastly precocious Akemi was for his age.

This was further proven when Itachi raised his hands, making grabbing motions, and Akemi immediately pulled out a purple sippy cup from the back of the stroller and handed it to him. Itachi guzzled the drink, causing some of the juice to dribble from his mouth.

"Wow, you were really thirsty, huh, Nii-san?" Akemi pulled a napkin from his pocket, wiping his older brother's face and taking the cup back.

Shikaku was borderline _disturbed_ at this point. Akemi was not merely self-aware, but understood how his self related to the people around him, something that should be impossible even for geniuses his age.

"Sorry about that." Akemi stored the sippy cup back in the stroller. "We can play shogi now."

He placed Itachi in the living room near the television, setting the channel on a cartoon show, and walked over to the porch. Shikaku was lining the pieces on the board when a knock resounded from the front door. Yoshino went to get it, and Shikaku thought nothing of it until Uchiha Mikoto, hands on her hips, glared down at her son.

"Uchiha Akemi," both males winced at the use of his full name, "What did I tell you about running off?" Her eyes narrowed until they were pure black diamonds.

"Uhh," Akemi rubbed the back of his neck, his smile too large, "To always leave a note?"

Mikoto pinched the bridge of her nose. "That is a rule when we're at home, _not_ when we're in the middle of a grocery store."

Akemi opened his mouth, but Shikaku patted his knee. "Trust me, squirt, there's no winning this battle."

Akemi scowled at him. "I'm not a squirt, puberty just hasn't—"

Mikoto caught his ear and Akemi yelped as he was dragged up. "We are going home now," she hissed before turning to Shikaku, a pleasant smile suddenly adorning her face. "Thank you for indulging my son, Shikaku-san. He doesn't have many friends, but he always talks about you—"

"Kaa-san!" Akemi whined, blushing.

Mikoto, still smiling pleasantly, said, "Oh, you don't want me to share embarrassing stories with Shikaku-san?" She lowered her head to whisper. "Maybe you should have thought of that before running off and scaring your poor mother half to death."

Akemi gulped, looking truly ashamed. "I'm sorry, Kaa-san. It won't happen again."

Satisfied, Mikoto released him, and soon the Uchiha trio left.

Shikaku started packing up the shogi board when he found a little notebook beneath it. He picked it up, recognizing it as the same one Akemi had wrote in when he asked Shikaku for definitions. The Nara opened it to make sure, but stopped short at the sight of curved lines and dots beside the kanji on the page.

He squinted, muttering. "That's not Katonese..."

He kept staring at the oddity, eventually realizing that some of the curved lines repeated, much like a code...or a language...

Shikaku tucked the notebook in his pocket, resolving to return it to Akemi the next time he saw him, and pondering how a two-year old who barely grasped Katonese had already learned a language so _foreign_.

Fugaku, sitting on the bar stool besides Shikaku, who was nursing a beer bottle, asked, "Another language?" The Uchiha angled his ear towards the Nara, doing his best to ignore the jazz music drifting across the room as well as the incessant chatter behind them.

"-it's La Chakra, man, I'm telling you!"

"No, her name is Ra Chancla!" The spiky-haired chunin shot back at his friend from across the table.

"Ra Chancra, La Chancla, who cares?" The brunet banged his fist on the table. "Point is, we've got to track her down before she steals all the kids' sandals!"

The spiky-haired ninja looked contemplative. "Well, maybe we can appease her by burning shoes in a bonfire—"

Shikaku set down his beer bottle with a clink. "Actually, Akemi was writing in two languages." Fugaku appeared stunned. "I got a couple of analysts to look at his notes, turns out he was writing in Eigoha and Supaingo."

Fugaku's brow furrowed. "I've never heard of those languages."

Shikaku shrugged. "Neither had I, which makes sense considering less than three percent of the Elemental Nations' population speaks it."

Fugaku's eyes darkened. "So where could Akemi have learned it?"

Shikaku looked over the man warily, but forced himself to appear nonchalant. "He probably read it in a book, the guy loves to read." He downed the rest of his beer, setting his cash on the table and signaling the bartender. "Well, it's getting late, and you know how my wife gets if I stay out too late. Guess I'll see you around, Fugaku."

The Uchiha appeared mildly irritated, but nodded. "Fine, but we should talk more when you get the chance."

The Nara muttered an agreement as he departed, leaving the Uchiha to digest all he'd been told.

So Akemi's strange mutterings were an actual language—no, _two_ languages. That wasn't very incriminating, simply meant Akemi was highly-intelligent, something he'd already known.

Sighing, Fugaku rose from his stool and strode out into the crisp nighttime air.

He needed to gather more information, from Shikaku, the Hatake boy—though he might be hard to track down—and even the Hyūga clan head. They were Akemi's closest companions, and he needed to figure out why the boy was spending so much time with them. For the safety of his clan and family, maybe to protect all of Konoha.

Fugaku stuck his hand in his pocket, fingering the vial of Akemi's blood he obtained when his hawk bit the boy's leg.

First stop was the Police Force forensics lab, then he would go home.

**.**

Itachi's twin had locked himself in his room, not leaving it for anything that night, or the following day. Mother brought food up to him, setting dishes outside his door where they remained untouched for hours until she picked them up and threw them away.

"We have no choice," Mother decided, scowling determinedly as she entered the kitchen with Itachi trailing her. She went up to the coffee machine on the counter and pressed the power button.

"Let him have mocha," she grieved, handing Itachi the entire coffee pot, and even adding a cup of milk and sugar on a saucer to go with it.

His mother watched solemnly while Itachi walked over to the patio, dabbing a handkerchief under her eyes, for the woman had been trying to curb Akemi's coffee addiction for years, and this undoubtedly would make her son relapse.

Father entered the house right as Itachi was crossing the living room. He eyed the pot of coffee, but merely bid his son goodnight before heading upstairs.

Itachi stopped to watch him, face expressionless. Father was responsible for Akemi's current depression, at least partially, and while there were no signs the man had physically harmed Akemi—excluding the small cut on Akemi's ankle Itachi was sorely hoping came from an accident—Father must have said something _awful_ to have so throughly crushed his twin's spirit.

Itachi blew out air through his nose, frowning at the floor. He respected Father a lot, took pride in being such an accomplished shinobi's son, but if ever Itachi had to chose between him and his little brothers...

Itachi swept that line of thinking from his head, not wanting to be riled up when he approached his emotionally vulnerable brother. After calming, he slid open the screen door and stepped out into the cool night air.

Akemi was sitting by the pond, legs folded beneath him as he leaned over the water's edge. He was dressed for bed, wearing black shorts, a baggy, green t-shirt and white slippers. On closer inspection, however, his hair looked unkempt, long bangs curtaining his eyes and strands sticking up in the back.

This wouldn't be so concerning if Akemi wasn't shaking with silent sobs, his hands pressed over his eyes while his tears dripped into the pond below. "It's too big," Itachi picked up Akemi muttering, "This h-house is too big, _nuestra casa nunca fue tan grande_ _y_ it s-shouldn't have shoji doors or tatami mats... The world shouldn't have ninja or chakra or summons and...and nothing... _nothing_ is like home. _Why can't I just go home_!?" He dissolved into incoherent sobbing, his last question in a language Itachi could not grasp, though his despair was clear.

Itachi almost turned back, doubting Akemi would appreciate him witnessing him being so vulnerable. However, Mother was counting on him, and even Sasuke seemed upset when he told him Akemi was "sick", so Itachi steeled himself and closed the door behind him.

Akemi stiffened, breath hitching, and Itachi gave him a minute to compose himself before approaching. He set down the coffee between them as he sat, observing the moon's crystal blue reflection in the pond as he said, "Mother made you some coffee."

Akemi scrubbed his cheeks before facing him, but the puffiness lingered around his eyes.

"Really?" Akemi said quietly, then crossed his arms and groaned. "Jeez, I'm not on my deathbed, she didn't have to go that far."

Itachi remained expressionless. "You skipped four meals. Mother would consider it a national emergency if you missed just one."

Akemi suddenly reached over and poked his cheek. Itachi blinked at him in surprise while Akemi pulled back, saying, "Sorry, you made a joke, I had to make sure you were actually my brother and not someone under a henge."

Itachi's face softened. "You don't have to act like you're okay when you're not." Akemi's face shuttered, his feelings diving behind ironclad walls, and Itachi quickly rectified. "And you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just want you to know I'll be here...whenever you're ready."

Akemi got up, and for a second Itachi thought he'd said the wrong thing, but his brother merely stuck a silence barrier seal on the door behind them before returning to sit by the pond. Itachi waited patiently as Akemi's expression dropped, exhaustion weighing down every pore on his face while he stared at his shimmering reflection in the water.

He didn't look away from it as he said, "I..." Akemi frowned, squinting at the boy in the water like he didn't recognize himself. "I'm different from you," he finally decided, "And I don't just mean my foresight, though that's a part of it."

Itachi waited for more, but when his brother simply glared at his reflection, he prompted. "What else—"

"I was self-aware as a baby." Itachi's teeth clacked, his mouth clamping shut. "Completely cognitive... There's never been a time where Uchiha Akemi didn't know who he was or what world he was in. Everything was already planted in my head...history, facts, languages, images of other lands and cultures..."

Itachi nearly asked for more details, astounded his theory about Akemi being born _knowing_ was true, but Akemi was confiding in him, and Itachi refused to be selfish.

"It doesn't really bother me that much, the knowledge or my foresight, or how it weirds people out." Akemi's lips hitched up. "Actually, that's probably the best part, freaking people out." The good humor faded fast and Akemi stared evenly at the pond. "It's just lately, I can't help but wonder why...why is this happening to me? Why was I chosen? What am I doing _here_?" His voice rose, anger and sorrow twisting his face. "Why does Uchiha Akemi even exist!?" His hands balled up, shaking with rage as he glared at his reflection.

"Why am _I_ here?" he asked quietly, like he didn't mean to say it.

Itachi frowned. "Akem—"

"Am I still human?"

Itachi's frown deepened. "Of course—"

"How do you know?" Akemi rounded on him. "Having awareness at birth, seeing the future—even my dōjutsu is weird! What about any of this sounds like I'm human?!" Anger rolled off Akemi in waves, but Itachi knew it wasn't aimed at him. His twin was simply venting his frustration, an emotion he perhaps had never really let himself feel until now.

"I'm not even sure what I am anymore! If I'm still human, and I just..." The fire died in Akemi's eyes, and he looked like he might cry again. "I want to go home."

Itachi's face scrunched up. "But you are home."

Something shattered in Akemi's eyes, and Itachi recoiled as he chuckled bitterly. "Home?" He continued to laugh at a joke Itachi didn't get.

"Don't you..." Itachi chose his next words carefully. "Consider this home?"

"No, no, you're right, I'm home." Akemi threw his hands up to gesture at their house, bitter smile smeared across his face. "And I won't be leaving it anytime soon... Maybe I never will..."

Akemi hopped to his feet and left without looking back. Itachi watched him disappear into the house before frowning down at the untouched coffee, staring at his black reflection in the drink and knowing he'd made Akemi feel worse.

"I really am a useless brother." Itachi bowed his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the wonderful comments <3 And sorry this took so long to get out, but hopefully the next chapter will be completed within the next two weeks!
> 
> Next time: Fugaku continues his investigation, Mama Mikoto steps up, and Itachi graduates!
> 
> Also, Fun fact: The Katonese spelling of English and Spanish, Eigoha and Supaingo, are based on their actual Japanese spellings, Eigo and Supeingo ;)


	6. Reflections

Shikaku had seen his fair share of combat, but none so dangerous as the fighting upon the Third Shinobi War battlefield.

Amidst the screaming and blazing fire scorching the gray sky and sooted earth, Shikaku never had time to feel scared. At least, he never felt as scared in battle as he did when Yoshino told him she was pregnant.

It was within a blink of an eye Shikaku woke up one morning, looked up at the calendar and realized their baby was due in fifteen days. Yet, even the best estimates were off sometimes. The baby, _his baby_ , could actually arrive any minute, _any_ _second_. Yoshino could be home alone when her water broke while Shikaku was away on a mission, and he could stroll back into Konoha days later just to find a baby already cradled in his wife's arms. Was Shikaku ready for that? Truly ready to be a parent? To train the future leader of his clan like his father had?

"Calm down," Akemi flapped his hand like he was waving away fumes, "You're thinking so hard, I'm starting to see smoke come out of your ears."

Shikaku snorted, though he was still staring vacantly through the shogi board where their pieces lied untouched—the boy was four now and still they'd yet to have their promised match.

"Hey!" Akemi snapped his fingers in his face, and seeing he'd garnered Shikaku's attention, crossed his arms. "If you keep this up, I'm going to use a wind jutsu on you," he huffed. "Then you'll wake up in a tree." He glared.

Shikaku finally pulled himself from his thoughts to see Akemi's brow was furrowed, his gaze more serious than his petulant tone would imply. Frankly, the child looked worried about him.

Shikaku wanted to laugh at the irony of a child fretting over an adult, but knew his laughter might hold an edge of hysteria, so didn't. It was too soon. Shikaku wasn't ready. All the baby books, all the childrearing classes, none of them could prepare him for the reality, the sheer _gravity_ of becoming a father—

Akemi latched onto his wrist, and dragged his hand over the board. Shikaku blinked, slowly looking up his arm to see Akemi's earnest expression. "It's going to be okay." Shikaku's eyes widened. "Yoshino will be okay. Your baby is going to be perfectly healthy and—" His eyes crinkled as he smiled broadly. "You will be an amazing father, Shikaku-san," Akemi squeezed his palm, "I know you will."

Shikaku's brain screeched to a halt, the man unable to process how a _child_ had so accurately guessed his thoughts—No, not just that, but Akemi understood and _sympathized_ with his concerns. Could it be they had grown so close? But, no, Shikaku hardly saw the boy until the Third War's recent end. Though the Uchiha had been visiting his house with increasing frequency ever since.

Akemi, still smiling, released him. "Better?"

Shikaku was surprised to admit he did feel better, felt surer of himself, despite the fact he had received comfort from a four-year old. It should have made him feel ridiculous or embarrassed to be reassured by a child of all people… So why didn't it?

Akemi turned to the darkening horizon, its twilight hue tinting his black orbs _golden_. "I should probably head home now. Don't want to worry my mom."

Shikaku nodded. "Yeah," he farewelled automatically, "I'll see you later, kid."

The boy left, and Shikaku frowned at the untouched board. Why had he been consoled by the speech of a child too young to grasp the terror of parenthood? What made Akemi's words so assuring?

Shikaku replayed Akemi's dialogue in his head, and realized his words did not resemble the naive speech of a child, but sounded like that of someone who had experience. Like an adult.

"Maybe he is one," Shikaku said, and wanted to laugh again, this time at himself.

Yet, the longer the Nara toyed with the idea Akemi was older than he appeared, the more his theory made sense.

**.**

Mikoto set the dishes on the table beside five pairs of chopsticks. The sweet and spicy scent of teriyaki salmon blended with noodles and vegetables wafted off every plate. A favorite of the entire household.

Sasuke released a jubilant cry before diving into his food with as much grace as any nearly two-year old was capable of, meaning noodle bits were already flying into his hair. Fugaku grunted his gratitude and dipped his chopsticks into the soy mix. Itachi, eyes hollow, muttered a thanks, and Akemi did the same, though he was staring straight through his plate.

Mikoto watched them all, smile frozen on her face and appetite elusive.

It had been five days since this began. Since Akemi came home, dried tear tracks on his face, and though his face was free of tears now, Mikoto wondered if he'd ever truly stopped crying. Itachi had tried to help—her little boy always did—but for once, he couldn't cheer up Akemi, and it was obvious Itachi was taking the failure hard. Typically, Akemi would have reassured him by now, but it seemed her second son was too caught up in his own despair to notice Itachi's plight.

Then there was Fugaku, her dear, proud husband who no longer appeared mystified so much as wary whenever he saw his middle child. Normally Mikoto wouldn't confront him on his behavior, for a good Uchiha wife never questioned her husband needlessly, but after dinner Akemi accidentally bumped into his father.

Quickly, the boy said, "Sorry, Tou-san."

His parent stared down at him.

Akemi, wilting, dropped his eyes to the floor. "I...I mean, Fugaku-san," he bowed, then fled to his room.

A cold kunai entered Mikoto's heart when Fugaku appeared to _accept_ the change in address, but a good mother never allows her children to witness parental disunity, so Mikoto waited.

She got Sasuke bathed and put to bed, listened to her twins entering their respective rooms, then went downstairs to wash the dishes. She was scrubbing a particularly hard grease stain off her favorite pan when she heard Fugaku zipping on his vest and heading to the door.

A flick of her finger lashed a chakra string around the man's neck, and Mikoto left the water running as she exited the kitchen to approach her motionless husband by the door.

Fugaku was blinking wide eyes, grasping at his throat, but not actually pulling at the chakra string. He could easily break free if he really wanted to, however, he knew this was just his wife's way of displaying the severity of her displeasure, so the man angled his head back to give his wife the attention she desired.

"Mikoto?" Fugaku both inquired and demanded.

His confusion was justified since Mikoto hadn't displayed her anger like this since she was pregnant with Sasuke—she'd been craving barbecued peaches, and when Fugaku told her no such food existed, well, she might have overreacted.

Mikoto ignored her fondness of the memory, and purged all expression from her face, coolly asking, "What did you say to my son?"

Comprehension dawned on Fugaku's face, and he sighed as he fully turned to her. "Nothing."

Her mouth opened, but Fugaku held up his hand and she shut it, waiting.

Fugaku, his jaw clenching, said, "Akemi is not our son."

Mikoto stared at him in disbelief, but the man went on. "Akemi is not human, my hawk summons confirmed it."

"You used your interrogation hawks on Akemi?" Mikoto plucked at the chakra string, forcing Fugaku to stumble closer and witness her enraged expression up close. "On our child!?" She hoped the running water covered up her shouting.

Fugaku, regaining his balance, stood tall. "I already told you Akemi is _not_ our child." His eyes narrowed. "I doubt the creature even is a child, it knows too much."

Mikoto schooled her face into a blank mask. Though she wanted very much to scream again, a good kunoichi was _silent_ when she stuck the kunai in her enemy's chest. "So does Itachi," she said mildly. "Akemi just expresses his intelligence differently, we've talked about this—"

"But I've got proof now!" Fugaku hissed, his hands bunching at his sides. "My summons confirmed Akemi isn't human, and since we're human that means he can't be our son."

"They told you he isn't human?" Mikoto arched a brow. "They specifically said, 'Akemi isn't human'?"

Fugaku faltered, leaning back. "Well," he scratched the back of his neck, "They said his chakra was abnormal..." He noticed Mikoto's skeptical look and scowled, crossing his arms. "It adds up, Mikoto." His eyes implored hers as he reasoned. "Akemi doesn't act like a child, he's too smart, he sees too much, and it's not just that." Fugaku's expression darkened. "I searched the archives for records of Uchiha born with wind affinities, and there's never been a full-blooded Uchiha born with a _weakness_ to our Uchiha fire."

Mikoto shut her eyes, lips pursing, and Fugaku leaned forward to say, "You know Akemi isn't normal. You've always known, haven't you?" Mikoto's eyes snapped open, yet uncertainty lied within them, so Fugaku pulled back, assured she understood. "Akemi is not a human being."

"And?" Mikoto asked delicately, though her features were anything but. "So what if Akemi isn't human? What makes that so bad?"

Fugaku's jaw fell open and closed before he growled. "If Akemi isn't human then he must be something else, like a demon, a _monster_!" He tossed his hands in the air. "Haven't you noticed how many of his 'friends' are in positions of power? How many clan heads he's endeared himself to—even the Hokage's wife adores him!" He glowered. "Akemi is planning something, I know it."

Mikoto lifted her chin, unimpressed. "Your evidence is circumstantial, surely the leader of the Police Force can do better."

Hot rage flashed across Fugaku's face for a second, but the man dipped his head and gritted his teeth, knowing anger would not work on her. When he raised his head, his expression was as chilly as his tone. "I don't need you to believe me," his mouth curved into an arrogant smirk, "I've got samples of Akemi's blood, hair, and skin. Something will turn up once the Force's forensics team completes their analysis of them."

Mikoto gave Fugaku a long, searching look, and when she saw his resolve, she bowed her head. With her hair draping over her face, Mikoto acquiesced. "When you have evidence, I will listen to you." Her lips remained a line while she maintained her bow, and Fugaku nodded, grinning as he turned.

"I'll return in the morning." He slid open the front door, stepped outside, and choked, his hands flying to his throat.

"Do not forget," Mikoto, head raised to display her cold expression and index finger arched, intoned. "When a man looks for evil, he will find evil...even if he has to make it himself."

She released the chakra string and Fugaku coughed harshly, doubling over and inhaling a whoosh of oxygen. When he regained his breath, he straightened, and turning, reached out. "Mikot—"

The door slid shut in his face.

Fugaku, stunned, dropped his hand and stared. However, he soon composed himself, and standing tall, Fugaku gave his back to the door and walked off into the night.

Within the house, Mikoto released a hefty sigh, her expression twisting into one of pain and fists quaking at her sides. Yet, she only indulged in the guilt for a second before releasing the tension from her body. Mikoto had another role to play tonight. Firstly Wife, then Kunoichi, and now Mother.

She turned off the kitchen sink, tensing at the tiniest sound of bare feet on the matted floor, but when she glanced into the hallway, there was no one there. Mikoto chucked it up to her imagination, and flicked off the lights as she silently walked up the stairs.

She turned left at the top, passing Sasuke's bedroom and stopping in front of Akemi's door. The woman raised her hand, but put it back down, changing her mind last minute and grabbing the knob. Mikoto peeked in while the door opened, and seeing the motionless lump on the bed, she slipped inside. Mikoto didn't make a sound as she approached the window where the moonlight streamed in through pale blue curtains. Beside the window hung a pinboard, which Akemi called his _Kawaii Shrine_. Dozens of photos were pinned to it, most of them featuring Sasuke, along with a newspaper clipping reading: **CUTEST BABY AWARD WINNER!** In the black and white photo beneath it, Akemi held his baby brother up high, grinning proudly while Sasuke, likely elated by the newfound height, waved his little arms.

Mikoto's lips flicked up because she had a copy of that same newspaper in a scrapbook in her room, one she hoped to gift to Sasuke once he was older.

After a moment, the woman turned to another picture collage taped to the wall over Akemi's headboard. Unlike the pinboard, the photographs were of landscapes and buildings along with magazine clippings of faraway places. The pictures were shot from low angles to high ones, capturing just the right amount of light exposure to bring out the best coloring of the scenery and monuments.

Akemi had a true knack for photography, he did for many arts...and wasn't that strange? A shinobi child so in love with the peaceful arts, directly opposed to the art of war.

Mikoto's face turned downcast as she layered her hands over her heart.

Akemi was different, Fugaku was right, she'd always known that. From the very beginning she noticed her baby's unusual antics, like how her newborn watched everyone so carefully, _purposely,_ from his crib. How independent Akemi tried to be, grabbing his little onesie from her hands to put it on himself, and only accepting help with the zipper in the back. The fact Akemi never cried at night, nor during the day. Even when his twin did, Akemi merely looked annoyed at being woken up so suddenly in their shared bassinet, but eventually Mikoto noticed even her being woken up by Itachi's nightly cries had became a rarity. She checked on them every morning, yet always found both babies were changed and well-fed. Mikoto assumed it was Fugaku caring for them until she gave her twins a cursory check one early morning and found seven-month old Akemi, baby bottle in hand and Itachi's head in his lap, feeding his brother.

Akemi had froze like a man with a knife against his neck while Mikoto stood wide-eyed in the doorway. For a second, neither one moved, but then Mikoto noticed a second bottle hanging out of Akemi's mouth, filled with a liquid too dark to be milk.

She took it from him, ignoring Akemi's cry and attempts to reach for it. Mikoto unscrewed the bottle top off and when a caramel aroma drifted out of it, she blinked. "Coffee?"

Stunned, Mikoto couldn't decide whether to address the fact her second son was so terrifyingly advanced he knew how to mix baby formula to feed himself and his twin, or consider how her infant son apparently preferred coffee over milk.

Akemi stared at her, his posture rigid and expression strained. Perhaps he was waiting for her to start screaming. If he was as advanced as Mikoto was starting to believe, maybe Akemi was aware most parents would have a negative reaction to their baby being this smart.

But Mikoto was a kunoichi first, parent second, and kunoichi were masters at adapting, so she said, "You are much too young to be drinking coffee." She waggled her finger at Akemi. "And I don't want you to get addicted like your father." She dumped the coffee in the sink, filled the bottle with formula, and handed it to the stunned infant before exiting the nursery.

She wasn't sure Akemi even grasped Katonese yet, but he must have understood something because Mikoto only caught him drinking milk and water after that. Except on the mornings where he stole Fugaku's coffee and pretended to read the morning paper, but she suspected that was just to give Fugaku a scare. Especially since when Mikoto told her husband, "Imitating adults is very common for children his age," the woman swore Akemi smirked from his seat on the couch and raised his mug as if to say, "Cheers!"

Akemi's eccentricities only increased as he grew, but Mikoto found she didn't mind them. In fact, she was flattered whenever her toddler joined her on the couch while she mended the tears in Fugaku's shirts, sliding a colorful picture dictionary onto her lap. Akemi would always tap on the images and wait for her to pronounce the object's name before doing his best to imitate her, and it was pleasing watching his vocabulary expand, knowing she had a hand it.

By age two, Akemi even started following her to the training room, mimicking her katas and beaming whenever she stopped to correct his stances. There was also that time when Akemi was four and he entered the kitchen while she was kneading dough on the counter.

His dark eyes, too weighty to belong on such a childish face, peered up at her while he asked, "You used to be a kunoichi, right?"

Mikoto nodded. "Hai." She picked him up, and set him on the counter, knowing Akemi preferred speaking to adults on the same eye level.

Frowning, Akemi asked, "Do you miss being a shinobi?"

Mikoto paused, not expecting the question because no one had ever asked. No one ever asked how it felt for a kunoichi to marry—the equal parts of joy and resentment they felt as they stepped down from one role and reshaped their entire life for their new one. Mikoto's actions were simply an expected, acceptable change for a good Uchiha wife. Step down, raise the kids, let it all go.

Mikoto smiled, applying more force than necessary to the dough she was manipulating. "I loved being a kunoichi, but I love being your mother too." She bent down to kiss his forehead.

Akemi stared at her, his ebony eyes as deep and perceptive as her own black pearl gaze, until he lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Mikoto's smile fell out of shock, but suddenly Akemi was smiling as he declared. "When I grow up, I wanna be like you, Kaa-san!" He puffed out his chest and pointed his thumb towards himself. "I'm going to be the greatest, bestest househusband in the entire world!"

Fugaku, walking in with coffee mug in hand, spat out his drink.

Mikoto blinked.

Itachi, still holding his father's hand, stared at the puddle on the floor and said, "We should clean that up."

Fugaku spent the rest of the day trying to convince Akemi he could not get married and stay home to raise the children while his wife went on shinobi missions. Akemi didn't understand—at least he _seemed_ not to—and asked if Mother was an honorable woman.

"Of course," Fugaku told him. And was Mother's role a respectable one? Fugaku again agreed.

Akemi, eyes narrowing, asked, "Then would it not be honorable and respectable for me to do the same?" Before Fugaku could counter, Akemi added. "A shinobi is one who makes sacrifices. Mother made a great sacrifice when she married you, and she is still sacrificing. How is the role of a housewife any different from a shinobi's?"

Fugaku was stunned, Itachi just continued reading his history book, and Mikoto smiled more genuinely than she had for a long time.

Refocusing on the present, Mikoto went up to Akemi's bedside and stooped low. Akemi's eyes were shrouded by a fan of dark hair—he'd been growing it out like Itachi lately—so she brushed his bangs aside, tucking them behind his ear.

"Kaa-san?" Akemi peeked one eye open, his voice thick with grogginess.

Mikoto smiled. "Would you mind getting dressed? There's something I want to show you outside."

"Now?" Akemi's forehead wrinkled, his eyes darting over to the red clock on top of his dresser. "But it's after ten." He pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes to clear them. "Where are we going?"

"Hmm," Mikoto tapped her chin, pretending to mull it over, but soon she whispered. "It's a secret."

A touch of skepticism darkened Akemi's gaze.

Mikoto understood. After Fugaku used his hawks on him, the same summons the Police Force used to break hardened criminals, her son's trust in his parents was probably shaken, if not completely shattered.

That would be changing tonight.

"Trust me, you'll like the surprise," she promised.

Akemi eyed her a moment longer, but whatever he found in her expression seemed to mollify him because he stumbled out of bed and went to his personal bathroom.

She stood up, her black hair glittering sliver in the moonlight as she walked up to the window and opened it.

When Akemi came out wearing his day clothes, she caught his hand. "I'm going to shunshin us there."

Akemi braced himself, and in a blur they disappeared from the room to arrive on the docks belonging to the Uchiha training grounds. The crescent moon and brilliant stars glittered along the lake's surface while Mikoto let Akemi go and walked over to the dock's edge. She sat down, her legs dangling off the side and bare toes caressing the dark waters.

After she patted the space next to her, Akemi joined her, sitting down and staring up at the night sky. Neither spoke for a minute, the cool breeze brushing over their skin and whistling past their ears.

Eventually, Akemi said, " _La luna y las estrellas son bonitas esta noche._ " He side-eyed Mikoto. " _The night sky always looks so pretty in Konoha. I guess because there's no city pollution here."_

Mikoto knew Akemi was testing her, so watched the ripples her toes made in the water as she commented. "That language sounds beautiful." Mikoto shined a radiant grin on him, pretending not to notice the assessment in his gaze. "What's it called?"

Akemi, voice airy though his expression was guarded, said, "If you mean the first one, it's called _Español_." He waited a moment while she went back to creating ripples with her toes before inquiring. "Aren't you going to ask where I learned it?"

"Would you answer if I did?" Mikoto saw Akemi's eyes widen from her peripheral vision, though his expression quickly turned neutral as he crossed his arms. "That depends," he said sourly, "Are you going to tell Fugaku what I tell you?"

Mikoto swirled the water with her big toe, distorting her wispy reflection in the lake until she was nothing but a swirl of raven hair and ivory skin. "You shouldn't indulge your father's delusions by calling him by name," she chided lightly. "I certainly won't, by acting as his spy." Her days of espionage had ended years ago, and for once, she had no desire to relieve her glory days. Though the memory of wading through muggy marshes and sleeping in jungle underbrushes brought a twinge of nostalgia to her heart.

Akemi frowned, but merely sounded curious when he asked, "Why not? It's not like I'm your actual son, you don't have to feel guilty over spying."

Mikoto didn't face him. "Is that what you think?"

Akemi, growing frustrated by her neutrality, glared. "You know I'm weird, so why—"

" _Normalcy_ does not equal goodness," Mikoto's gaze burned into his, making his jaw snap close, "Nor does _different_ equate with evil."

Akemi searched her face for dishonesty, but Mikoto remained nonjudgmental, so he looked away. With his eyes shrouded by his bangs, he quietly asked, "And if I told you Fugaku was right? That I am certainly not your son?"

"Then I'd say you're wrong."

"But I'm not—"

"I don't care if you're human or not."

Akemi reeled back, but Mikoto caught his cheek and gently pulled him closer. "You are my son," she beamed, "In every way that counts." Akemi's eyes grew big, his lips parting. "I felt you, you and your brother growing inside me," Mikoto stroked her toned belly that had once been so round with children, "And I was so happy whenever you two moved or kicked, so eager to meet my children."

Finally the dam broke and Akemi's face screwed up like he'd been gutted with a knife as he choked. "But I'm not! Mikoto-san, I'm not your son! I'm not even—" He bit on his lip, stopping himself from perhaps saying something he'd regret, and jerked out of her grasp.

Appearing drained all of the sudden, Akemi hung his head and whispered. "I'm not supposed to be here. I don't belong here, and I...I'm sorry, Kaa-san, I didn't mean to barge into your life. If I could just go back to where I belong—"

"You're already exactly where you're supposed to be." Mikoto engulfed Akemi in a strong embrace, tucking his head against her shoulder while Akemi's breath hitched.

Gently, she admitted. "I don't have all the answers, Akemi, but I am certain you are here for good reason."

Akemi's eyes widened, shock stamped across his face. "I'm here...for a reason?" He repeated slowly as if in a trance.

Mikoto nodded. "I know you are." She pulled back so he could see her earnest smile. "Because you are a blessing," Akemi's eyes grew even bigger, " _My_ blessing."

Akemi's mouth fell open while Mikoto explained. "The night after the doctor told us we were having twins, I had a dream I was lost in a dark cave full of monsters. When I found my way out, I saw a golden sunrise in the horizon, brightening everything it touched." She giggled at Akemi's mesmerized look, concluding. "The next morning, I told Fugaku our second child should be named Akemi."

"Is that so?" Akemi sniffed, blinking away the beginning of tears. "That's cool, 'cause I like my name."

She pulled him in for another squeeze. "I'm glad..." Her face fell a little. "Though I was hoping for a little girl."

Akemi blinked, but quickly chuckled. "Well, they say third time's the charm...and I wouldn't mind a little sister."

A far away look entered his eyes, but Mikoto didn't notice as something occurred to her. "Oh!" Akemi regarded her. "So you were self-cognizant as a baby?"

Akemi, unsure where this was going, said, "Yeah."

Mikoto's lips spread into a cheery grin. "So that's why you screamed every time I tried to breastfeed you."

Akemi's cheeks darkened into scarlet, both of them recalling how he used to holler at the top of his lungs, throwing everything from stuffed animals to baby rattles at Mikoto in an effort to dissuade her.

He hurriedly looked away, scratching the side of his head awkwardly. "Y-yeah, you're pretty and all, but you're like my mom, so that was just— _Just_ _no_." He shuddered.

Mikoto's laughter rang out across the lake, airy as a wind chime. "And to think I thought it was because you didn't like me."

Akemi rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks still flaming. "I realized that, that's why I made 'Kaa-san' my first word, to let you know I did like you." He sobered abruptly. "You really think I'm here for a reason?"

Mikoto smiled tenderly, though her eyes were sad. "I'm sorry," she parroted his words from so long ago, stroking his hair, "I can't imagine how hard it's been for you, being so different and not knowing why." A piercing ache shone through Akemi's eyes. "But please try to remember." She squeezed his shoulder. "Uchiha Akemi is here for a good reason."

"I will." Akemi bobbed his head, voice trembling. "I'll always remember," he swore. Then he threw himself into her arms, clutching her hard enough to hurt, and when she held him back, Akemi found himself wanting to save Mikoto. Not just incidentally save her when he prevented the massacre, but Akemi specifically desired to save _this_ woman much like he planned to protect Itachi and Sasuke.

"You're a good son," Mikoto whispered over the top of his head. "I'm sure your father will realize that one day, but until then, do not give up on him, and most importantly, never give up on yourself."

"I won't." Akemi sent her a watery grin, his eyes too full of tears for him to notice the golden embers burning in both of their irises while the yellow moon smiled down on them.

**.**

Shikaku sat at a long table two seats down from Fourth Hokage Minato. All the clan heads were gathered in the room, excluding the Uchiha clan leader, but that was probably for the best considering who was presenting.

Akemi, his baby brother sleeping in a sling laid over his chest, stood in the middle of the table. His expression was grave, though there was a wild gleam in his eyes as he waved his wooden pointer stick at the projection screen displaying a photograph of Uchiha Shisui side-by-side a portrait of his ancestor Kagami.

"As you can see, their eye color, hair color, hair type, and facial dimensions are _identical_. 'Ooh, but that's just how genetics work, Akemi-kun,' some of you must be thinking that, right?" Akemi leveled a heated glare on every individual in the room before lowering his stick, hissing. "Well, all you skeptics would be correct _if_ it was only _direct_ ancestors who shared so many similarities."

Akemi walked over to the overhead projector and switched out the pictures of Shisui and Kagami with two drawings of a young Uchiha boy wearing armor from the Warring Clans era. One picture was of the Uchiha boy from the side while the other depicted the child facing frontwards from a distance.

Getting back to the middle of the table, Akemi waved his pointer stick at the screen. "This is Uchiha Izuna, the younger brother of Uchiha Madara." A couple of faces around the table grimaced at the name, Councilman Danzo outright glowering. "Both Madara and Izuna died without being married or producing offspring. However, since I and my _super adorable_ baby brother are heirs to the Uchiha clan, we share a very loose relation to them because Madara's second cousin replaced Madara as the head of the clan, and is thus my great-great-grandfather."

"Now why does this matter, might you ask?" Akemi glanced at Shikaku, and the Nara stood up, unfurling a long scroll and holding it up high so it could be seen in its entirety. On the paper were five photographs, the top picture displaying an Uchiha baby from the side, his hair seemingly flat and straight, only for each progressive photo to show the child a little older with the back of his hair elongating and rising until the last image presented the four year-old with dark, spiky locks sticking up from the back of his head, very much like Izuna's hair.

"These photographs depict how the gene for spiky hair develops on a typical Uchiha." Akemi put down his stick and carefully removed his baby brother from his sling, the infant twitching but not awakening as Akemi cradled him so the back of Sasuke's head was visible to everyone. "As you can see, my little brother appears to have straight hair, but take a closer look." He walked over to each person, allowing everyone to observe the baby up-close, though Councilman Danzo didn't even look. "Anyone notice something off?"

Minato raised his hand, an indulgent smile on his face while Akemi nodded at him. "The ends of Sasuke's hair are curving up at an angle."

Akemi grinned. "Exactly." He went over to the scroll and held out his baby brother beside the scroll's image of an Uchiha infant. "Thus, we can assume Sasuke has inherited the spiky hair gene."

Danzo, lips curling into a snarl, interjected. "That's conjecture," his lone eye glared at Akemi, "You could have brushed the infant's hair to make it look like it's spiking."

Minato frowned, as did Shikaku, Hiashi, and Choza, but none of them could speak before Akemi flashed his teeth, his canines peeking out dangerously. "I thought someone might say that, so I had Sasuke's DNA tested at Konoha Hospital. Hiashi-san, what were the results?"

The Hyūga sat up straighter, holding a file above the table so all could see its bolded headline reading, " **96% Conclusive the infant has inherited the gene for spiked hair** —"

Danzo slammed his fist on the table. "As if we could trust an Uchiha not to skew the data—"

"A _Hyūga_ doctor analyzed the baby's genotype," Hiashi gazed evenly at Danzo, his pale eyes frosty, "Are you questioning my wife's doctoral integrity?"

The atmosphere seemed to freeze around them as Hiashi stared down the surprised Councilman, but before Danzo could speak, Minato raised his hand to gather attention, his expression terse. "I believe it has been made clear that the evidence is trustworthy and unbiased." He inclined his head to Danzo. "Thank you, Councilman, for bringing such valid questions to light," his cold blue eyes revealed his true feelings, "But please remember I said there will be a time for questions at the end, so try to refrain from interrupting again until the presentation is over."

Danzo, his face smoothing out, though his eye was livid, nodded. "I understand."

Akemi, smiling cheekily, wrapped up his point by displaying a drawing of what Sasuke would look like in four years based on the scroll's information, and it was downright uncanny how much of a resemblance Sasuke was going to share with Izuna despite their lack of relation.

Akemi also presented the rather disturbing effects inbreeding had on physical appearance as well as the diseases and infirmities caused by it. Even the Hokage was aghast by the results of the Konoha Hospital survey, the bar graph revealing how the percentage of those born with these diseases were _increasing_ in clan populations while decreasing in civilian ones.

Danzo exclaimed the graph didn't matter because a lot of the diseases didn't affect people until they were older, and most shinobi didn't live to such old ages anyway, but Akemi countered. "That maybe the case today, but who knows what type of deadlier diseases will form if inbreeding continues? We have to stop it before things get out of control."

Akemi looked over all the clan heads, a few smiling encouragingly while most were neutral, and sighed. "I understand that inbreeding has served as a protection for your clans over many centuries, preserving rare kekkei genkai and ensuring your bloodline limits remain in your family." He raised his head to look down at all of them. "But this is not the Warring Clans era anymore. This is a time of newfound peace, and we live in a Village of _united_ clans, so why do we keep hoarding our kekkei genkai like we're still fighting each other?" His voice rippled through the silent chamber, causing his baby brother to briefly squirm in his sling.

Akemi, tone even, explained. "Konoha may have started as a group of allied clans, but today the Village is so much more than that." His voice swelled with passion. "Konoha is a _clan_ , one made of many unique and diverse individuals. Together the Konoha clan has survived three Great Wars by utilizing our united strengths, so imagine what we could accomplish if we bonded together to the highest degree possible." Akemi stretched out his hands as if to take hold of all of theirs, saying, "Let us rid ourselves of any hint of division in Konoha and renew the bonds between us, for Konoha is our clan, and a clan is a family, and only together can we carry our family on to the future."

Akemi bowed. "Thank you for taking time to listen to me, Minato-sama, clan heads, and Councilman Dango."

"It's Danzo!"

"That is what I said, Dango-sama."

Akemi stepped off of the table before the Councilman could correct him again while the Hokage assured Danzo that Akemi couldn't help his childish lisp and would eventually be able to pronounce his name correctly. Meanwhile the clan heads discussed how the mixing of clan genes could result in new kekkei genkai formation, a fact Hiashi's wife verified, and although Danzo tried claiming the Family Exchange Program was a plot by the Uchiha to steal their clan bloodline limits, Shikaku pointed out that the Uchiha clan's vote was being counted _against_ the Program automatically since Fugaku had missed the meeting. This reassuring many of the attendants, resulted in the majority of clan heads voting to pass the program.

Shikaku, Minato and Akemi got to work immediately afterwards, spending hours every day in the Hokage office drafting up Program guidelines and figuring out where to divert Village funds to promote the new initiative.

One day when Akemi was absent, Shikaku and Minato were looking over the final draft of the guidelines, and the Nara couldn't help but say, "Akemi is a genius. Even I wasn't so brilliant at his age."

"I'm not sure that's a valid comparison." Minato smirked as he looked up from the document. "I heard you were a pretty lazy kid, but if you hadn't been so idle, maybe you could have accomplished the same feats as Akemi back then."

Shikaku, rubbing the back of his neck, muttered. "I suppose." His expression grew serious. "But Akemi is different...the way he speaks and acts, sometimes I forget I'm talking to a child when I'm with him."

Minato propped his head against his fist and grinned. "You're referring to the fact Akemi is a reincarnated adult."

Shikaku's eyes popped open, and he sputtered. "He told you!?"

"Actually, no." Minato's gaze was sharp, though his tone was light. "But based on your reaction, I'm assuming the same theory has crossed your mind."

Shikaku sighed, calming. "Yes," he turned to stare out the window at the daytime sky, "It's the way he behaves, he can't just be a smart kid. Even genius children are naive about some things, but Akemi—"

"Acts like he's already experienced everything before...perhaps in his previous life." Minato shut his eyes, mouth slanting down.

Shikaku, still staring at the sky, asked, "Can you imagine going through that? Reaching adulthood just to die and have to start all over again?"

Minato opened his eyes, raising his head and grimacing in sympathy. "That's not even the worst of it, if what I suspect is true." Shikaku turned to him, curious, and Minato solemnly said, "I think Akemi used to be a civilian in his past life, one from outside the Elemental Nations."

Shikaku gasped, face twisting with horror because the world was very different outside the Elemental Nations, some lands out there didn't even use chakra, and if Akemi had been a civilian, never witnessing bloodshed his whole life, only to be reborn as a shinobi clan heir...

"Akemi works tirelessly for other people, to improve so many lives." Admiration brightened the Hokage's blue orbs. "Kakashi tells me Akemi shows up at his apartment sometimes, making him breakfast, helping him pick flowers for Obito and Rin..." A flash of pain crossed Minato's face before he stuffed it down. "I also suspect Akemi is the one who keeps leaving those 'How to Help Depressed Teens' booklets in my home. It's one of the reasons I realized Akemi wasn't a normal kid, he knows too much."

Shikaku lowered his head. "The poor guy."

Minato nodded, but soon his lips flicked up. "Though who is to say Akemi is a guy? He might have been a woman in his past life."

Shikaku blanched, his jaw dropping. "Hokage-sama!?" He blinked rapidly.

Minato chuckled. "It's merely food for thought, Shikaku-san," he waved away the comment, but now that it was there, Shikaku couldn't stop thinking about it.

Akemi could be rather motherly around his siblings, and didn't Mikoto say Akemi _enjoyed_ watching those sappy television romcoms with her?

Shikaku wanted to speak to Minato more about this theory because it was such a relief to finally have someone who understood, so the two made plans to speak again next week, but then the Nine-Tails attacked, the Village fell apart, and Minato was gone.

The Nara clan head came home to find Akemi cowering behind his sofa in the living room. Shikaku didn't bat an eye as he flopped back onto the couch and picked up the remote, turning on the television. While the newscaster discussed how Village reconstruction was progressing, he asked, "How'd the babysitting go tonight?"

Akemi, with haunted eyes as he hid beneath the sofa arm next to the man, whispered. "Shikaku-san, your baby isn't normal, he keeps staring at me like he—"

The sudden crackle of plastic being torn made them both freeze before they turned to the culprit.

There, in the shadows of the living room, was six-month old Shikamaru sitting in a diaper. In his hands was an open bag of potato chips, something Shikaku knew his wife had hidden on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets to prevent this very scenario.

The baby stared his father dead in the eye, then did the same to Akemi, making the boy whimper, as if he was daring them to try and stop him. When neither of them moved, Shikamaru stuffed a corner of the bag in his mouth and slowly crawled away backwards, keeping his eyes on them the entire time like a lion dragging away a carcass.

Akemi waited for the baby to disappear into the darkness of his nursery before stuttering. "That's not normal, Shikamaru _can't_ be a normal baby."

Shikaku shrugged. "He's a Nara, this is standard childhood development for us." Akemi looked even more freaked out. "Besides, you did the same stuff when you were little."

Akemi blinked, his terror ebbing into shock. He paled. "Oh my— _That's what I looked like!?_ " He grabbed at his hair, and when Shikaku nodded, he choked. "I am _so sorry_ , I always thought my dad was overreacting, but that..." He looked off to the nursery where the ominous crunch of chips being snacked on could be heard. "That is _terrifying_."

Shikaku's mouth curved up with good humor. "Yes, I suppose most people find it unnerving when a baby displays the same qualities as an adult."

Akemi stiffened, but recovered quickly, rising and joining Shikaku on the couch. "But I didn't scare you, Shikaku-san?" There was a deeper meaning underlining Akemi's words, though his tone was teasing.

The Nara, noticing how Akemi faced the television, but his eyes were on Shikaku, said, "No, things are only scary when you don't understand them."

Akemi, the television's pale blue light reflecting off his eyes, asked, "And what is it you understand?"

Shikaku decided to throw caution to the wind, maybe because he'd been working all day and was too tired to play mind games, or maybe because Minato was gone and the Fourth Hokage never got a definitive answer, so Shikaku would get it for him.

"You were in your early twenties when you died."

Akemi, still staring at the television while the weatherman reported tomorrow's incoming thunderstorm, shrugged. "That's all you got?"

Shikaku sucked in a deep breath, knowing that was a confirmation. Akemi really was a reincarnated adult!

Getting a hold of himself, Shikaku continued. "I thought you were older at first, middle-aged perhaps, but some of your childishness feels genuine, so I suspect that while you were and still are mature, in your past life you were fairly young when you died." Shikaku glanced at Akemi, but the boy—man?—was watching him attentively, waiting, so he added. "I also believe you were a civilian, one from outside the Elemental Nations. That's why you take notes in those foreign languages, because they aren't _foreign_ to you, but they're your original tongue."

Shikaku stroked his goatee, diving deeper into his analysis. "I must admit I didn't realize you were a civilian until the Fourth Hokage pointed out your abhorrence of violence. When people argue with you, you're never afraid to throw words right back at them because your instinct is to use words before physical violence. That's the same way most civilians react in Konoha, but shinobi children... I've seen them at the Academy, they're always ready to brawl when someone insults them, and a clan heir like yourself has been training to be a ninja since you could walk, so talking shouldn't be your first instinct...unless you lived an entire other life not knowing how to fight, with words as your only weapon."

Akemi blinked. "So Minato-sama knew about me?" He looked down, his hands griping the cushion beneath him. "I wish he'd told me... I wouldn't have mind him knowing..."

Shikaku frowned, his heart heavy as he admitted. "I never actually believed in reincarnation."

"I still don't." Shikaku's eyes widened while Akemi softly said, "I didn't die, Shikaku-san, I'm sure of it." He faced the television again. "I just went to sleep in one life, and woke up in another."

Shikaku's mouth fell open, and it took some time for him to work it again. "That...that's unheard of."

"You're telling me." Akemi smiled, but soon his lips dipped down. "Sometimes I go to bed and wonder if I'll wake up back in my first life...if all I have to do is close my eyes, and then I'll wake up back home..."

Shikaku's mind spun as he massaged his temples, not expecting such a reveal. "Is that why you approached me? You want me to help you go back?" The Nara shook his head. "But I don't think anyone could help—"

Akemi burst into laughter, laughing so hard he nearly rolled off the couch, and Shikaku watched, stunned silent until Akemi calmed down. "Don't be silly, Shikaku-san." He got to his feet and went over to the bookshelf. He found the box containing the shogi board and rummaged through it until his face lit up as he seemed to find what he was looking for.

Akemi walked back to Shikaku, his fist closed around something. "Good match, Shikaku-san," Akemi set the king shogi piece on the Nara's knee, grinning wide, "But next time, I'll win for sure."

It took Shikaku a second to realize that he and Akemi had in fact began their promised match long ago when Shikaku first accepted the one-year old's challenge. Akemi had _wanted_ him to learn the truth about him.

"Why?" Shikaku exhaled, picking up the king piece and rolling it between his fingers.

Akemi raised an eyebrow, and Shikaku elaborated. "Why reveal yourself to me if you don't want my help?"

Akemi chuckled. "Well, my big brother is my best friend, but he's five-years old and—" He ducked, flushing. "We're friends, right?"

Shikaku's expression relaxed as he finally understood. The boy wanted someone his actual age to talk to. Akemi was lonely.

The Nara smirked, huffing. "Of course, but are you sure you were a civilian? Because that was pretty sneaky, squirt."

Akemi scowled immediately, crossing his arms. "Don't call me that! When puberty hits me again I'm probably going to be taller than you, and my voice will be deeper and richer than red velvet cake!"

Shikaku threw back his head, laughing, and after a moment, Akemi's petulant expression lightened until he was laughing too.

Fugaku, appearing unimpressed from across the booth's table, asked, "You really think Akemi is a normal child? _Truly_?"

Shikaku shrugged, slouching over his empty bowl. "Well, Akemi can be an oddball, but there's a lot of weird sorts around here, and Akemi doesn't stand out compared to some jonin I know."

Fugaku, eyes darkening, bit out. "Akemi isn't like them." He folded his arms tightly, hissing. "I'm not even sure he's a child."

With a casual shrug, Shikaku drawled. "I guess Akemi could be some type of reincarnation, probably used to be an overbearing mother in his past life." The Nara held his chin as if musing it over. "He is quite domestic sometimes."

Fugaku angled his head back to stare down the other man. "A reincarnation? Please, be serious."

Shikaku's gaze sharpened, and suddenly he straightened up. "Be serious?" He cocked a brow. "But didn't you invite me here just to talk?" His face scrunched up with suspicion, and Fugaku glared.

"No need to play coy, Shikaku-san," he huffed. "We both know you've realized what I'm really here for."

"So you're investigating Akemi?" Shikaku's countenance iced over when the Uchiha merely stared back. "In that case, care to tell me what crime Akemi has committed to warrant this?"

Fugaku's face hardened, but he said nothing, and Shikaku made a derisive sound. "So this isn't an official Police Force investigation? In that case," Shikaku slid out of the booth, only pausing to swipe his beer bottle off the table before turning his back on the Uchiha, "Thank you for the meal, Fugaku-san, but I don't have the answer you're looking for."

Fugaku shot up, uncaring how this drew attention from several other patrons. "And if you learn the truth about Akemi, would you tell me?"

Shikaku sighed as he craned his head back. "Maybe, but if you really want an answer, I think you should give my 'Akemi is a reincarnated mother' theory some more thought." He smirked, and Fugaku smoldered while the Nara headed to the restaurant's front door and left.

Fugaku watched him cross the street through the glass window, his frustration mounting. Akemi had gotten to the Nara clan head, hadn't he?

The creature masquerading as his son was clever, Fugaku would give him that, but he would learn the truth eventually, no matter what it took.

The Uchiha payed the restaurant bill at the counter and exited through the glass doors, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets as he trudged down the road. It was dark out, the streetlights above him either cracked or broken, so maybe that was why Fugaku didn't notice the man following him until he spoke.

"Uchiha Fugaku."

The clan head whipped around, jumping back four feet and landing with a kunai raised until he recognized the man staring at him in amusement.

Fugaku lowered his arm stiffly, but did not release the kunai as he asked, "What do _you_ want?"

**.**

Itachi had graduated. He stood before his proud homeroom teacher, running his thumb over the leaf symbol etched into the headband in his hands, before reverently tying the cloth around his head. Itachi's face eased into a grin as he bowed to the assessment teachers, and he left the room with his heart overflowing from accomplishment.

The newly-made genin held his head high while he walked through the Academy halls for the first time as an official ninja, and quickly exited the school building, slipping through the throngs of other graduates showing off their headbands to their friends and family. Itachi was searching for his own parents when he sensed someone watching him.

He assumed it was one of those girls who had bombarded him with gifts in class last week, tearfully saying they'd miss him despite Itachi having never said more than two words to any of them. However, the person observing him turned out to be an old man with bandages covering the right side of his face. The man was standing beneath the shade offered by some nearby trees, so it was hard to make out his features and identify him.

"Uchiha Itachi," the man called, and curious about how the stranger knew his name, Itachi joined him under the shade. "I have a question only the Academy's most talented graduate can answer."

Itachi cocked his head, puzzled by the man's blunt manner, but seeing no reason not to listen, he remained quiet. "Imagine ten men have been shipwrecked, and one of the men has caught a deadly disease. If he lives, the other nine men will die. What would you do?"

Itachi frowned, instantly formulating a response while simultaneously thinking this was the oddest first meeting he'd ever had. "Well, if the sick man is dying already, in order to save the other nine I would ki—"

Two white blurs fell from the sky, careening towards the bandaged man's head, but before Itachi could warn him, the man leapt back and Itachi realized the stranger was a shinobi. Yet, there was no time for questions as the white blurs pummeled into the earth, stirring up a dust cloud. Itachi saw they were white sandals right when a girl in a pink dress shrieked. "It's La Chancla!"

The two white sandals hopped up like a bunny, nearly clipping Itachi's chin, and the girl gasped. "She's attacking that boy!"

Itachi opened his mouth to say he was fine, but no one could hear him over the children already screaming their heads off and fleeing into the school building. Older siblings were tossing younger ones over their shoulders before sprinting away while a few parents whipped out shuriken, and somebody's grandfather pulled out a katana.

"Let's get her!"

"Daddy, I can't lose my shoes! They're name brand!"

"Hurry, use a fire jutsu on your sandals! I heard sacrifices appease La Chancla!"

Itachi watched as the sandals flipped and spiraled around the shuriken thrown at them—Akemi was becoming very good at manipulating chakra strings—while the grandfather rushed ahead with a battle cry, only for his back to give out halfway towards them. The man's wife came to his aide, whacking the sandals with her cane until the white shoes shot into the air, disappearing into a cloud.

Itachi blinked, thoroughly baffled when a familiar hand caught his and tugged him away from the scene. "Akemi?"

His twin grinned at him, but Itachi was too surprised to smile back. "What happened to your hair?"

"Oh, you noticed?" Akemi ran his fingers down the strands, his front hair having been trimmed so a long bang swept from the left side of his face and fell over half of his forehead, partially obscuring Akemi's right eye. "I wanted a hair change like you, Nii-san." He flicked the short ponytail Itachi had started growing, and chuckled. "It's symbolic because everything is changing. You're going to be completing missions, and I'm going to start training with Biwako-sama while only attending half-days at school..."

Itachi made a soft noise of agreement as they traveled the stone pathway, which he hadn't noticed them heading down until now. "Where's Sasuke, and Mother and Father?"

"At the end of the street." Akemi swung their joined hands between them. "I ran ahead because I wanted to talk to you, but we'll probably meet up with them soon."

"Oh," Itachi felt a tad wary considering how their last conversation had gone, "Is that why you attacked the man with the bandages?"

"No." The venom in Akemi's tone startled Itachi into stopping, having never seen such raw anger on Akemi's face before. "That's because I hate him, and if he ever comes near you again, I'll break his neck." He noticed Itachi's shock, yet shook his head and resumed walking. "I'll explain later. First, I want to tell you how sorry I am for the other night."

Itachi immediately shook his head. "You don't have to, I'm the one who failed—"

"I made you feel bad, didn't I?"

Itachi's lips pressed shut, and Akemi smiled sadly. "I'm not apologizing for what I said, I'm saying I'm sorry for making you feel bad." He squeezed Itachi's palm. "I love you a lot, you know, and there's not a single person I'd rather have as my brother."

Itachi's eyes widened, cheeks heating up because the seven-year old hadn't expected the sudden sentimentality. "It's just, I know everything is going to be different now." Akemi stared intently at him. "I won't see you at the Academy anymore, and sometimes we might get so busy we won't see each other for days."

Itachi's brow knitted together, for as happy as he was to be one step closer to his goal, he would miss his brother's company. If only Akemi had graduated with him, they might have ended up on the same squad...but it seemed his brother was planning something by staying at the Academy, so Itachi let the matter drop.

"Nii-san," Itachi looked up to see Akemi's earnest expression, "Please know that you can always come to me about anything. Even if you think I won't like what you have to say, and even if what you say does make me upset, I am never going to abandon you."

Itachi, feeling the weight in Akemi's words and wondering what his twin might have seen with his foresight to warrant this promise, tried to speak, but found a lump in his throat barring his words.

Akemi, as always, seemed to understand anyway. "Don't worry about the future, that's for me to handle." Itachi tried to protest, but Akemi added. "It's my job to help you achieve your dream. As your brother and your friend, my entire reason of being is to support you until your dream becomes a reality."

Itachi's gasped right as Akemi placed a quick kiss on his forehead. "Just you wait," he pumped his arm, "I'll be the greatest medic-nin Konoha has ever seen!"

Itachi noted the determination lining Akemi's jaw, and a tiny smile spread across his face. "I know you will."

Akemi paused, his eyes fluttering in shock, before a light blush covered his cheeks. "Ahh, thanks, Nii-san."

Itachi nodded, truly glad Akemi was taking up medical ninjutsu. Not only because it suited his twin's caring nature, but because medic-nin were almost always the safest shinobi on a team. While Itachi had read that some enemy ninja would target medic-nin to ensure the other ninja couldn't be healed, most shinobi preferred to capture medic-nin to use their healing abilities for themselves. Also, as a medic-nin, Akemi would be kept out of the direct line of fire during battles, and it took a load off Itachi's shoulders knowing Akemi would be in less danger than most once he graduated.

However, there was something Itachi still needed to discuss with his twin. "Akemi?" His brother looked to him. "Can we talk about your sharingan?"

There was a pregnant pause, then—

"My _what_!?"

**.**

"What do _you_ want?"

Orochimaru grinned, baring his sharp teeth while his sickly yellow eyes pierced into Fugaku's with such intensity, the Uchiha almost called his own sharingan forth in instinctive defense. "I've heard the Uchiha Police Force has been having some trouble finding abnormalities in Akemi's bio-samples."

Fugaku gaped. "How—" He shook his head, regaining composure. "I don't care how you heard, why does it concern you?"

Orochimaru took a step forward, and Fugaku stood his ground, only the way his fingers tightened around the kunai revealing his unease. "It doesn't _concern_ me, Fugaku," the Uchiha reigned in a snarl at the less than respectful address, "I merely wanted to offer my services. As you might recall, I have aided the Police Force's forensics team several times in the past when they required a more thorough analysis of crime scene evidence."

Fugaku did remember, much like he remembered the thirteen Uchiha children and eight infants who had gone missing in the past five years, some witnesses claiming the kids were last seen with the very snake he spoke to now. The Force could never prosecute Orochimaru for the kidnappings, especially when the Third Hokage vouched so staunchly for him, but most Uchiha parents warned their kids to keep their distance from the golden-eyed Sannin.

Fugaku frowned. "You want to study Akemi's blood?" He glared. "I ask again, why?"

Orochimaru smirked. "I've already explained, you need my help, Fugaku-san. My laboratories have far more advanced equipment than the Police Force, and I am an expert in biology. If there's any abnormality to be found, even the slightest one, I will find it, and can give you the answers you seek."

Fugaku gritted his teeth, loathing the man's oily voice and lying tongue. It was obvious the Snake Sannin would not reveal his true intentions, but Orochimaru's offer was admittedly tempting. It had been nearly two weeks since they started analyzing Akemi's bio-samples, and nothing had turned up. Every test said Akemi was a normal human being, even the chakra-based ones, but Fugaku knew that was wrong. Yet without proof, no one would believe him or rally to his side when it came time to stop Akemi's plans. Fugaku needed something concrete, and needed it soon.

The Uchiha slipped the kunai back into his pouch, and squared his shoulders. "What would you ask of me in return for your services?"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up, his tongue slipping out of his mouth like that of a rattlesnake, and disgusting Fugaku as the Sannin said, "Being able to analyze Akemi's blood is payment enough."

The faintest part of Fugaku that remembered Akemi, so young the boy couldn't even reach Fugaku's knees as he climbed up the man's pants in an effort to steal his coffee, demanded to know what type of father would let a man like Orochimaru anywhere near his son. Yet a voice far louder superseded his conscience by assuring Fugaku that Orochimaru was a monster, but Akemi was too.

Fugaku sighed, his expression resentful. "It appears we have a deal then." He turned his back on the Sannin and started to walk to the Uchiha district, knowing the viper would follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a lot longer than I was expecting, so hopefully that makes up for the four weeks it took to post this 😅  
> Also, thanks for all the comments and support everyone has given this story, it's appreciated! 
> 
> Next time: Akemi starts training with Biwako who, like all great teachers, immediately tries to crush his spirit! Akemi learns more about his sharingan, and Fugaku and Orochimaru discover something strange with Akemi's blood...
> 
> Next chapter is going to be a fun one, so stay safe everyone till then!


	7. Reassess

Akemi sat cross-legged in the open field. The summer humidity made his hair cling to his forehead, but the heat was tempered by the billowing wind.

Biwako, sitting across from him with her hands on her knees, grinned genially at him. Though her brow furrowed when a brown sparrow landed on Akemi's shoulder, the boy seeming not to notice it.

"Something wrong?" Akemi cocked his head, unaware of a second sparrow landing on his other shoulder.

Biwako, deciding it wasn't important, shook her head. "No, it's nothing." She smiled again. "Now how about we start with introductions? I know we're already aquatinted, but after today we'll be working with each other in a more formal setting, so there's a few more things I'd like to know about you."

"You mean what are my likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future?" Akemi smiled cheekily.

Biwako paused. "That's…oddly specific, yet entirely correct. How did you know?"

Akemi shrugged. "Good guess." His expression remained neutral, but there was a hint of a smirk curving his mouth like he was recalling something amusing. Once again Biwako let it go—she had a feeling many strange things were going to happen around this boy, so she might as well get used to it now.

"Regardless," she carried on, "Please tell me about yourself."

Akemi straightened up, and with a winning smile, boasted. "My name is Uchiha Akemi! I like to draw, jam on my piano, listen to sweet beats, and read sappy romance novels. I also enjoy spending time with my brothers, cooking, and taking photographs of cute or neat things."

His forehead scrunched together. "Uhh…I dislike people who hurt my family or friends, and when I do something incorrectly since I'm a perfectionist." His expression suddenly twisted with disgust. "I also hate bugs, they're gross." His head dropped, hanging low as crocodile tears started streaming down his face. "That's why I can't hang out with any Aburame. I'm just not strong enough..." He mourned.

Biwako sweatdropped when he continued to lament for a solid minute, but eventually prompted. "And your dream?"

Akemi sobered, expression growing serious. "I want to fulfill my role as Itachi's brother."

Biwako's forehead knitted together, perplexed by the ambiguity in his answer, and Akemi noticed so clarified. "I want to support my big brother as the future leader of our clan, and do everything I can to ensure Itachi succeeds in his dream so he can be happy. Maybe once I have then I can go back—" He stopped, seeming to want to say more, but suddenly unwilling to speak.

"Akemi-kun?" Biwako asked, concerned.

The boy blinked, coming back to himself. "Nothing, that's all." His tone was a tad too stilted for her to believe him, but the woman saw no reason to force him to explain, so moved on.

"Well," Biwako clasped her knees, "That was very informative, and your answers will help me adjust my lesson plans to fit with your wants and needs." A wicked gleam entered her eyes. "However, I require further information in order to properly assess your skill level."

Akemi frowned. "But couldn't you figure that out from my Academy test scores?"

Biwako bobbed her head. "Probably, but it wouldn't be as fun as this."

"As fun as wha—"

Biwako punched the earth and the ground split apart in a jagged line that zipped towards Akemi.

The boy threw himself up with a gasp, the sparrows flying off his shoulders as he leapt away seconds before the fissure could reach him.

He landed in a crouch two feet away from the cracked earth and gawked when he saw that the fissure stretched twelve meters down. Eventually dragging his wide eyes up to Biwako, who was still seated, Akemi exhaled. "How did you—!"

In a blur the woman vanished from in front of him, and reappeared behind him, her leg swinging up to strike his back. "Medic-nin: Rule Three!"

Her sandal brushed over Akemi's hair as the boy ducked, only for the earth to rise like a pillar beneath him, forcing the Uchiha back up so his head collided with her foot.

He cried out, tumbling off the dirt column and landing on his back in the grass, but Biwako punched the pillar's foundation with her enhanced strength so it started to tip over him. "A medic-nin must be the last of their team to die!"

Akemi, gasping, rolled away before the pillar could crush him and lurched to his feet, scuttling backwards.

"So prove to me you can avoid death!"

Akemi flew into a fighting stance, only to wince and rub his bruised head while Biwako pulled a golden stopwatch out of her weapon pouch. "You must survive the next twenty minutes without losing a single drop of blood," she clicked the start button and the countdown began as she put the watch away, "Or I _will_ deem you unworthy of being my apprentice," she hissed.

Akemi tensed, his hand falling from his head as he raised his face, expression grim. "I see." He reached down for his weapons and Biwako smirked. "Then how about I—" He stopped short, eyes bulging and hands patting his sides frantically when he found no pouches on his person.

"You should pay closer attention, Akemi-kun." Biwako smiled coyly, pulling Akemi's pouches out from the folds of her haori and tossing them up and down tauntingly.

Akemi frowned. "When did you—"

Biwako dropped the pouches and sped through the dog, horse, and bird hand seals. _"Fūton: Breakthrough!"_ She blew a strong gust of wind straight towards Akemi.

The child reared back, but couldn't move fast enough as the gust slammed into his gut, knocking spit out of his mouth and tossing him yards away. Biwako ended the jutsu, allowing the boy to fall, only for Akemi's body to pop upon hitting the ground.

Biwako gasped. "Shadow clone?" The boy's Academy records hadn't indicated he knew such an advanced technique.

"So you can use wind and earth jutsu?" Akemi's voice drifted up from beneath her and Biwako's head whipped down right as small hands latched onto her ankles. "And you used chakra scalpels to cut off my pouches while I was trying to duck under your leg."

Biwako's eyes widened at the sight of Akemi standing inside the fissure, his legs braced against the dirt walls. "Trust me, Biwako-sama, I was paying attention." He grinned victoriously, and yanked her into the fissure, letting her fall headfirst into its depths.

Immediately Biwako's hands flew through six signs and the water particles in the air converged at the bottom of the ravine to form a large bubble. Biwako flipped around so she landed feet first on the bubble, partially sinking into it before being launched up and out of the fissure.

The medic-nin dropped onto the field in a crouch, one hand splaying on the grass and her kneecaps creaking as she stood. "Such cunning." Biwako smiled to herself, noticing Akemi had taken his pouches back and was fleeing into the distance, though the boy had nowhere to hide when the land lacked any hills or vegetation taller than a shrub. "But there's still sixteen minutes to go." She sped through the tiger, hare, boar, and dog seals, using a shunshin to get in range, then slammed her palms on the earth. _"Doton: Mud Wall!"_

She watched the earth rumble and rise directly in front of Akemi, the dirt wall unavoidable as it stretched nine yards in every direction. She expected Akemi to crash into it—Taji certainly had—but the boy simply sped up and ran right up the wall.

Biwako's jaw dropped, not expecting Akemi's chakra control to be so advanced, but she quickly got over it and raised her hands, tugging at the chakra in the air until wind currents twirled around her fingers. She motioned her hands back, and the wind following her direction, pulled back towards her so fiercely it ripped some of the grass out of the field.

Akemi was quickly caught in the windstorm, trying in vain to cling to the top of the mud wall while his body flapped in the wind like a flag, but eventually his hands slipped and he soared backwards. However, he twisted around and Biwako immediately dismissed her wind jutsu when she saw him hold up the Tiger seal.

_"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"_

Even without Biwako's wind jutsu to enhance his fireball's speed, the woman barely leapt out of the way in time as the fireball crashed into the earth, scorching the ground and burning the grass. Biwako squinted when the natural breeze carried the ashy remains up into the sky, graying the surrounding area until she could barely see her own hands in front of her.

Biwako realized this was Akemi's intention when the boy's chakra signature winked out of existence. She stretched out her senses, but failed to detect him, meaning Akemi had either ran out of her sensing range or suppressed his signature so masterfully even an experienced jonin couldn't pinpoint him.

The latter proved true when her limbs suddenly seized up like ninja wire had been slung around her wrists and ankles, and Biwako angled her head back to see Akemi standing a good distance away, hands up, fingers arched, and an intense look of concentration on his face.

"Ah, the Puppet Technique," Biwako's lips curved upwards, her tone cheerful despite her predicament. "So your mother has taught you the ninjutsu which earned her the name Mikoto of the Blood Dance." The medic-nin briefly dwelled on the memory of the teenage Uchiha standing atop a hill, the full moon luminous behind her as blood ran down her arms and coated her nails like scarlet polish. Her sharingan eyes ablaze, Mikoto watched coolly while her last enemy dropped dead upon the blood-slicked earth.

"Really?" Akemi sounded genuinely curious, though his voice was strained. "I didn't know Mom made a name for herself."

"Well, you wouldn't." Biwako shrugged. "It was long before you were born."

Akemi, arms shaking as the chakra strings drained him of his reserves, grinned. "Still, I'd love to hear the story behind that."

"Maybe I'll tell you one day," Biwako faced frontwards, smile turning wicked, "Assuming you're not bitter over failing this test."

Akemi frowned, wariness trickling into his gaze. "You're sounding awfully confident for someone who's trapped."

Biwako smirked, huffing. "That's because a good trick has more than one use."

Akemi's brow furrowed right as he sensed a rapid gathering of chakra next to his legs, though it took him a second to realize it was coming from inside his weapon pouches. Immediately Akemi released his chakra strings and yanked the pouches off, tossing them high into the air seconds before they exploded.

Free to move now, Biwako leapt out from directly beneath the resulting shower of Akemi's shuriken and kunai.

"You snuck paper bombs into my weapon pouches!?" Akemi squawked, looking indignant though his voice was shaking while he hurriedly caught one of the falling kunai and started using it to bat away the other weapons raining down on them. "You could have blown my legs off!" He shouted without facing her.

Biwako cocked a brow, pulling out her own kunai and easily knocking aside the final falling shuriken. "I did say you must prove to me you can _survive_." She tightened her grip on her weapon and charged Akemi who quickly swung back to block her attack with his kunai.

Their blades clashed and scraped against each other, metal groaning and sparks flying as Biwako's kunai inched closer to Akemi's chest only for the boy's trembling arm to force it back towards the woman in a gradual push and pull motion.

"No enemy ninja will coddle you," Biwako glared. "Nor shall I!" She released her kunai and stepped aside so Akemi, not expecting the loss of pressure, overbalanced and fell forward on his hands.

"Test over!" Biwako slapped her palms together, lining them finger to finger, and blue chakra scalpels jutted out from each of her hands.

Akemi twisted around as Biwako's chakra scalpels suddenly flared out, the blue chakra glow expanding and elongating until the two scalpels merged. Akemi's mouth fell open at the sight of the blue chakra _sword_ hanging over him.

"Sorry, Akemi-kun," Biwako apologized sincerely while she swung her joined hands down, bringing the chakra sword towards Akemi's stomach.

Only to freeze three inches away, the woman's face paling as she gasped while below her Akemi threw out the strongest wave of killing intent he could manage. It didn't last long, not against a jonin, but by the time Biwako recovered Akemi had scrambled to his feet and was sprinting away.

"Clever boy." Biwako smirked, pulling apart her hands so the chakra sword dispersed. "But there's nowhere to hide," she taunted loud enough for the wind to carry her voice. "You've lost most of your weapons, and I suspect you're almost out of chakra if you've resorted to wielding killing intent." Her hands formed the snake sign and she slammed her palm on the sooty earth. _"_ _Doton: Mud Wave Jutsu!"_

The earth started rolling like the tides of the sea, the jutsu quickly reaching Akemi and making him stumble. The boy waved his hands wildly to regain balance, and Biwako took advantage by flinging a shuriken at him, but Akemi managed to knock it aside with his kunai. She was going to try again when suddenly Akemi dropped his kunai so his hands could flash through several signs. She expected an attack, so ended her jutsu to raise a kunai in front of herself, but was unprepared to see Akemi release a gust of wind beneath his feet and launch himself straight into the air.

Biwako quickly sprung up after him, throwing five more shuriken midair when she saw Akemi about to summon another fireball. Yet Akemi either dodged or knocked back her shuriken with his kunai. Exactly like Biwako expected him to.

The boy yelped when ninja wire suddenly coiled around his body and squeezed him while Biwako yanked down on the wire tied to her fingers and connected to the shuriken she'd thrown. "Like I said..." Biwako's face fell as she landed on the ground and the boy plummeted, unable to catch himself with how tightly he was bound. "Test over."

Akemi gasped when Biwako caught him, the impact still strong enough to knock the air from his lungs. "No..." He choked out when she summoned a single chakra scalpel and unhesitatingly sliced a shallow cut into his forearm, drawing a thin line of blood.

"I'm sorry." Biwako was genuinely sympathetic as she lowered the shell-shocked boy to his feet and untied the wire from his body. "You didn't pass."

"B-but..." Akemi's lips wobbled, crystal liquid building in his eyes and hands curling into his fists.

"Rules are rules." Biwako shook her head, heart heavy as an anvil because she had been _eager_ to take the Uchiha under her wing—perhaps too eager if he couldn't even survive twenty minutes. Had she read him wrong? Had Taji's memory blinded her to the truth?

"Was I…even close...?" Akemi despaired, breaths growing haggard.

"Akemi-kun..." Biwako sighed, not wanting to tell him, but before she could speak, the stopwatch rang, answering the boy's question in the worst possible way because Akemi merely needed to have lasted a few seconds and he would have passed.

She looked up to console him, but stopped at the sight of the child's beaming face. For a moment she thought Akemi was suffering from a psychotic breakdown when he shouted. "Got ya!"

"What?" She hadn't finished the word before Akemi's form shimmered and the blood disappeared from where she'd cut him, the boy's skin untouched.

Biwako gasped. "How—!"

Akemi smirked. "Henge." He shrugged. "Made it look like my limbs were a couple centimeters thicker than they actually were. I figured you wouldn't outright stab me— _even though you did try to blow me up_ ," he groused briefly before his tone evened out again. "So when you tried to make a surface level cut, you ended up just cutting through air."

Biwako blinked owlishly, but soon elation spread over her face. "Congratulations, Akemi-kun!" She grasped his shoulder. "You passed."

The boy beamed and pumped his arms in victory. "Yes! Now I can do this!"

Biwako tilted her head aside. "Do wha—"

Akemi dropped like a stone and passed out on his face.

Gradually the seven-year old regained consciousness.

His eyes fluttered open, and the feeling of someone else's chakra mixing with his own warmed his chest as he took in the blurry white and brown figure above him. Rapidly the colors solidified into Biwako who was crouched beside him, her hands aglow with healing jutsu while she ran them over his arms.

She stopped when she saw Akemi was awake, and asked, "Do you feel alright?"

Akemi blinked sluggishly. "Yeah." His voice gained some strength. "I no longer feel like my teacher tried to blow my legs off."

Biwako raised an eyebrow and mused. "You're really not letting that go anytime soon, hm?"

Akemi cracked a smile. "Not in this lifetime."

Biwako chuckled. "Always so dramatic, aren't you, Akemi-kun?"

"I prefer the term 'extra' actually." The Uchiha turned to the side, examining his new surroundings. They were in a forest, he was propped against a tree and if he squinted, he could make out buildings in the distance, meaning Biwako had brought him back to the Village.

Akemi lit up, head snapping back to his teacher while his eyes sparkled. "You sure are tough, Biwako-sama!"

The medic-nin was taken aback, but soon grinned. "Ah, and you were rather impressive yourself."

Akemi instantly shook his head. "Yeah, right, you were going easy me. Otherwise, I'd be dead." Before she could respond, the shine in his eyes intensified. "I mean, you cracked the earth like the Slug Princess Tsunade! I didn't know anyone else could do that! How'd you learn?"

Biwako opened her mouth to speak, but Akemi was still gushing. "And you made a sword _out of chakra_! I didn't even know that was possible—or was that really just a super large chakra scalpel?" He shook his head, not even noticing Biwako's attempt to reply. "Either way, it was awesome! And that's without mentioning how cleverly you used your earth and wind jutsu! Can use the other elements too—"

Biwako burst into laughter, and the boy's mouth clicked shut out of surprise before he began. " _Oye_ —" Akemi cut himself off, hastily returning to Katonese. "I mean, what's so funny?"

Biwako shook her head, chuckles tampering off. "Oh, nothing really, it's just refreshing having someone compliment my non-medical ninjutsu. Most people seem to forget medic-nin aren't mere healers, but trained shinobi too."

Akemi nodded. "I know what you mean, my whole clan thinks the medic-nin profession is 'unbecoming' for a true shinobi." He turned up to the sky where the clouds lazily drifted pass. "One day, I hope to change their minds, and get more Uchiha to enter the Medic Corps." He turned back to her. "After all, we have the best eyes for it, second only to the Hyūga."

Biwako's eyes widened, remembering something suddenly. "That reminds me." Her dark orbs bored into Akemi's. "Have you developed your sharingan yet?" A strange look flashed over Akemi's face before he schooled it, and she assumed it was from embarrassment. "It's fine if you haven't, just let me know when you do. Like you said, the sharingan allows one to see chakra, so once you develop it I'll have to adjust your lessons to compensate for your new abilities."

The boy's expression eased. "Oh, well, I'll let you know when that happens." His eyes glittered again. "When I start using my sharingan, that's when you'll teach me how to crack the earth with my bare fists, right? And show me how to make that cool chakra sword?" His body trembled with anticipation.

Biwako huffed, crossing her arms. "You're getting _years_ ahead of yourself, child." Akemi shrunk, deflating, but the woman kindly added. "I'll teach you the more advanced jutsu once you have the chakra reserves for them—"

Akemi's head snapped up, starlight in his eyes. "Really!?"

"But first..." Biwako reached back and pulled out a stack of papers. "Homework!" She dropped the thick packet on his lap.

Akemi stared uncomprehendingly at the stack, so tall he could barely see over it. "Huh?"

Biwako stood and set her hands on her hips, grinning. "That's a list of all the textbooks I want you to buy. You'll be following along in them while I give you lectures, and completing weekly reading assignments in them, so remember to bring them with you every Friday."

"Lectures?" Akemi's eyes grew large.

"I also gave you a list of all the gardening tools and plant seeds you need to buy before I can teach you how to cultivate a herb and poison garden."

"Gardening?" Akemi broke out in a cold sweat.

"And there should be a map there marked with locations where you can complete your one thousand hours of community service before the end of the year. I'll introduce you to all the personal running the places, starting with the Konoha Orphanage next week."

"O-one thousand..." Akemi's eyes glazed over.

"And let me know if you don't understand the directions for your medical research paper, which you must write, edit, and publish within the next three years. Of course, we don't have to worry about that just yet." She patted the catatonic boy's shoulder, Akemi merely making a guttural noise in response.

"Anyway, take some time to look over the packet, and I'll see you next week on Monday, ten o'clock PM in front of the Konoha Orphanage." She leaned in towards him, her smile razor sharp. "Goodbye, my apprentice." Biwako turned and left with a pleasant grin on her face, pretending not to hear the screech of despair behind her.

Oh, Biwako was certainly going to enjoy ~~tormenting~~ training a young mind again.

**.**

Akemi slid open the front door and entered the genkan shouting, "I'm home!"

His mother echoed his greeting from the living room while he removed his sandals and placed them on the shoe mat. He was closing the door behind him when the thundering of little feet crossed the corridor ahead, and Akemi turned back right as a tiny body ran into his leg.

"Kemi!" Sasuke threw his arms around his brother's calf and beamed at him with rose-colored cheeks. "Kemi home!"

"Yes," the seven-year old grinned and bent down to ruffle Sasuke's hair, making the toddler giggle. "Akemi is home." He suddenly scooped Sasuke into his arms, and the toddler shrieked with delight as Akemi squeezed him. "And he missed his _tomatito_ so much!" He pecked Sasuke's forehead with an exaggerated smacking sound while he stood.

Sasuke unabashedly kissed him back on the cheek and Akemi's smile widened, but then he noticed the child was wearing a navy blue yukata and his hair smelled like strawberries. "Already had your bath, huh?" He eyed the child suspiciously. "Did someone sneak out of bed again?"

"Nu-uh!" Sasuke shook his head, pouting. "Tachi no home!"

Their mother entered the genkan before Akemi could reply, a hand on her hip and fond exasperation curving her lips as she sighed. "You're right, Akemi. Your otouto was supposed to go to bed twenty minutes ago." She sent the toddler a stern look, but Sasuke merely puffed up his cheeks in defiance, and Mikoto couldn't stop a chuckle from leaving her. "But he's so determined to wait for Itachi he keeps slipping out of bed the second my back is turned." She crouched to pat Sasuke's head, beaming. "Already a sneaky little ninja, aren't you?"

Sasuke blinked, unable to fully comprehend his mother's words, but seeing he was being cooed at, his pout melted into a sunny grin. "Hai!"

"Don't worry, Kaa-san." The woman looked at Akemi. "Itachi will be here soon."

Mikoto frowned, confused. "Oh, I didn't know you two were training together."

Akemi shook his head. "We weren't. I just sensed him entering the compound a few minutes ago. He's almost here." His eyes flicked to the doorway.

"Ah," Mikoto brightened with understanding. "Your sensory abilities have been improving lately." She pinched Akemi's cheek affectionately, causing a pleased blush to spread over his face. "Keep this up, and by the time you graduate all the team leaders will be fighting to have you." Her kind eyes bored into his, and Akemi was touched the woman treasured him so. He knew she was only going out of her way to praise him because of the insecurities he'd revealed to her over a week ago, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

The front door slid open, startling his mother into releasing him and standing, but Akemi merely turned back and chirped. "Hi, Nii-san!"

"Tachiii!" Sasuke lurched forward, reaching for his older brother and nearly slipping out of Akemi's hold in the process.

Itachi blinked, surprised to see so many family members in the genkan, but quickly recovered and nodded at his twin and mother. "Akemi, Kaa-san." A smile spread over his lips as he faced Sasuke, the boy moving so the toddler could grasp the front of his shirt while he reached up and poked Sasuke's forehead. "Hello, Sasuke."

"Tachi! Tachi home!" Sasuke tugged at his shirt as Itachi retracted his fingers. "Play now!"

"Oh, no, you don't." Mother swooped in and pulled Sasuke into her arms, causing the toddler to cry out. "It's time for bed, Sasuke."

"Nooooo," the child wailed, tears springing from his eyes and arms flailing in a desperate attempt to reach his brother. "Tachi! Tachi!"

Itachi felt a knife slice across his heart at the sound of his littlest brother's cries, but before he could face a moral dilemma, Akemi stepped forward. "How about I tuck him in, Kaa-san?"

Their parent eyed Akemi curiously, but soon nodded, and Akemi swiftly retook the toddler who immediately buried his face in Akemi's neck, sniveling. "There, there, Sasukito, it's okay. You can play with Itachi tomorrow."

Sasuke shook his head. "Play now!"

"But Sasukito," Akemi lowered his voice like he was telling a secret, "You have to go to bed…because Tomato-san _misses_ you."

Sasuke paused his sniffling, raising his head to see Akemi frowning. "Toma...miss Sasuke?"

"Yes, Sasukito," Akemi's frown deepened, "Tomato-san is sad because you left him on your bed and he misses you."

Sasuke's forehead scrunched up, clear worry in his misty eyes. "Can Sasuke help Toma?"

Akemi nodded, slowly walking down the hall while his mother and brother watched. "Tomato-san will be happy if Sasuke goes to bed, so how about it? Will you go to bed, Sasuke?"

"Hai-hai!" The toddler agreed emphatically, his voice drifting from the staircase and bringing a smile to Itachi's face.

Mikoto noticed the tender look adorning her firstborn and warmth blanketed her chest. It was rare to witness Itachi smiling so openly, and even rarer for such a look to appear in her presence.

Mikoto's lips slanted down. Not that Itachi hated her, but it took a special person to make Itachi light up like that, and she simply wasn't one of those special people. Though this saddened her, and a part of Mikoto mourned how Itachi wouldn't let her mother him like his siblings did, she was glad Itachi at least felt he could ease up around his brothers.

As if sensing her thoughts, Itachi turned to her and his smile dimmed until he was expressionless. "Thank you."

Mikoto's eyes fluttered, taken aback. "For what?"

Itachi bent down to remove his sandals, and gaze on the floor, stated. "For what you said to Father about Akemi."

Mikoto's blood ran cold, the woman recalling how she'd thought she heard someone downstairs the night she argued with Fugaku. So one of her children had been listening in after all? Perhaps it was an accident, maybe Itachi had simply been getting a glass of water when he overheard them. Or maybe Itachi wanted to know if his mother shared his father's opinion, if she too was a potential threat to his twin's happiness...

Itachi was observing her, features giving nothing away, and though Mikoto was saddened to see her son hide his feelings from her, she forced a smile. "You're a good brother, Itachi." Mikoto looked away. "And I like to think I'm a good mother, and a good mother takes care of her children."

Itachi stared at her, and for a second his features loosened into something young and appreciative, but then the moment passed and he merely nodded before heading to the staircase.

As Itachi went to his bedroom, he paused by Sasuke's partially opened door and peeked inside. The room was dark, but the moonlight streaming in through the curtains highlighted his slumbering younger brother who laid under the covers on his bed, curled up beside the tomato-shaped beanbag Akemi had taken to calling "Tomato-san".

Itachi smiled, wishing he could linger, but he'd performed quite a few D-rank missions in people's yards today, and his clothes were crusted with dirt so he went ahead to his bedroom.

He took a quick fifteen minute shower in his personal bathroom, and came out just to find his twin dressed in his nightclothes and sitting on his bed.

Itachi didn't so much as blink at the sight, knowing their talk was long overdue. They had tried discussing Akemi's sharingan in-depth the first couple of nights after Itachi's graduation, but Father had been home and neither felt comfortable broaching the subject with him nearby. Then the following week both Akemi and Itachi found themselves too tired to talk thanks to their new training schedules.

In Itachi's case, the team-building exercises his genin team was being put through, while physically easy, often proved to be mentally-taxing. Not that Itachi's teammates were unskilled or lacking, but they were prone to bickering, and for some reason Tenma kept trying to goad him into strange competitions. Itachi had been hoping his twelve-year old teammates would take things more seriously, but they seemed hardly better than the children at the Academy.

"Can we talk?" Akemi asked, bringing him out of his thoughts, and Itachi nodded, moving to flick off the lights and close the door before sliding into bed alongside him.

Akemi pulled the covers over their legs, awkwardly starting. "So about my sharingan—"

"You didn't know you had it," Itachi said, having realized from Akemi's surprised expression.

"Yes—well, it's a bit complicated." Akemi scratched his head. "I figured I had a dōjutsu, but I wasn't sure it was the Sharingan because my eyes' hypnosis ability was unusually powerful."

"You hypnotized someone?" Itachi asked, alarmed.

Akemi bobbed his head. "Yeah, I didn't mean to, but I had just developed my sharingan and..." He quieted, bitting his lip and fidgeting as he debated how to explain.

Eventually he sighed, and with a determined scowl, admitted. "I gained my sharingan during the Nine-Tails Attack." Itachi gasped. "The Hokage told me not tell anyone this, but I know you can keep a secret."

Itachi wasn't too surprised to learn his twin had been attempting to prevent the Nine-Tails Attack—he'd always suspected that was the case—but he was shocked to hear that a man with a sharingan had taken control of the fox and maneuvered the beast into attacking Konoha. Akemi was insistent the man was not an Uchiha of Konoha, but perhaps a Kekkei Genkai thief. However, Itachi was stunned to learn Akemi's newly-awakened sharingan had been powerful enough to hypnotize a man with a fully-mastered sharingan.

Itachi frowned, mind whirring. "Maybe whatever makes your sharingan so powerful is also the reason it looks different."

Akemi angled his head, thinking it over. "You said my sharingan was gold and has two tomes, but was there anything else strange about it?"

Itachi nodded. "It made the skin around the corner of your eyes gold too."

Akemi raised a brow. "Really? That kinda sounds familiar..."

He muttered to himself, but when he didn't elaborate, Itachi asked, "So you can't control your sharingan?"

"Nope!" Akemi tossed up his hands, shaking his head. "I can't even figure out how to turn it on."

Itachi's frown deepened. It wasn't safe for Akemi to have a sharingan he couldn't control. If it accidentally activated and he couldn't turn it off, Akemi could suffer chakra exhaustion, or overextend himself trying to adjust to the sharingan's enhanced vision, leading to him being seriously injured. Also, considering how strong Akemi's hypnosis was, and potentially his other sharingan abilities too, Akemi might endanger others without realizing it.

"Shisui can train you." Itachi decided, making Akemi look up. "He already knows about your visions, and figured they might be the result of a mutated sharingan, so you can trust him to keep it a secret."

Akemi immediately agreed. "That's a good idea. Next time you see him, could you ask if he would be willing to train me?"

Itachi nodded, glad his brother was being reasonable and would soon have his dōjutsu under control, even if a small part of Itachi was upset his twin had gained his sharingan before him.

Some of his disgruntlement must have showed because Akemi suddenly smiled. "Don't worry, Nii-san. Even if I can't train with Shisui, we'll be able to train our eyes together pretty soon." He winked while Itachi gasped at the implication he would be gaining his sharingan in the near future. "But I guess there's nothing we can do about it right now." Akemi flopped back on his pillow. "So let's get some rest, I've got a late night meeting with Biwako-sama tomorrow and—"

"Why did you start studying medical ninjutsu?"

Akemi stilled, surprise flashing over his face before he turned towards Itachi. "Uhh, that's a random question," he gave his brother an inquiring look, but Itachi just stared at him, so Akemi's lips flattened into a line as he grew serious. "I want to help people, and I like studying biology." He turned away, voice softening. "And I want to help you achieve your goal."

"Why?"

Akemi frowned, sitting back up and eyeing his twin. "What's with the questions? I'm your brother, of course I want to help you—" Itachi's face crumpled, stunning Akemi into silence.

"Akemi," Itachi looked at him with pity, making Akemi's heart race, "I'm glad you want to support me, but I just don't understand how you can...when you _hate_ being a ninja."

Akemi's eyes widened. His mouth parted, but no words came out and Itachi's heart snapped in two because Akemi really did hate being a ninja.

He'd only recently realized this after Shisui encouraged him to test his stealth skills by following more experienced ninja without getting caught. This included shadowing his parents, his squad leader, other adult Uchiha, and Shisui himself. However, Itachi decided to add Akemi to that list due to his twin's exceptional sensory abilities.

So Itachi started following Akemi while his twin was out completing mundane tasks such as visiting his friends or borrowing books from the library. The first couple of times Akemi had noticed Itachi, so he had stepped out and pretended like he was intentionally seeking Akemi out for something. However, the third time Itachi managed to follow Akemi to the private Uchiha training grounds without any signs of his twin noticing.

Cautious at first, Itachi remained at a distance behind some bushes, but he eventually edged closer until Akemi twitched and started glancing around. Itachi stayed hidden up in a tree, wanting to see whether Akemi had heard him or sensed him.

After a minute, Akemi relaxed and Itachi realized he had been heard, not sensed, meaning his chakra suppression ability was improving!

Akemi moved in front of a target board, and Itachi made to leave when his brother sighed. "Here we go again."

Itachi paused, hearing the absolute _loathing_ in Akemi's tone. It was rare for Itachi's twin to be anything but chipper, so concerned, Itachi had remained, watching his twin tossing kunai at the target, switching the hand he used periodically and throwing the knife from different angles. Akemi almost always hit dead center, even when he flipped through the air and tossed two kunai simultaneously at target boards set on opposite sides, both hitting the black center dot at the same time. This didn't surprise Itachi, he knew Akemi's shurikenjutsu was as advanced as any Uchiha's, but what did surprise him was Akemi's expression.

His twin's eyes were cold and distant as if he wasn't even seeing his targets, and his jaw was set with grim determination. Akemi never looked like this during practice with him and Shisui, so Itachi assumed his twin was having a bad day. Except Akemi looked exactly the same the next time he trained by himself, and when Itachi really thought about it, weren't Akemi's smiles a tad too wide whenever they trained together?

The longer Itachi pondered it, the more evident Akemi's distaste for shinobi training became. Like how whenever Itachi and Shisui sparred, Akemi always stood back and spent his time practice throwing shuriken or using his wind and fire jutsu to smash logs. Sometimes Akemi even sketched or took candid shots of Itachi and Shisui. Also, while Akemi didn't seem to mind Shisui showing him new taijutsu or ninjutsu moves, he always tried them out on practice dummies, not actual people.

Yet none of this really added up until yesterday on Sasuke's birthday when Mother presented toy shuriken to their little brother. Itachi barely reigned in a grimace as Sasuke took to the wooden shuriken like a moth to a flame, hating the reminder that one day his precious sibling was going to be apart of the shinobi world. That Sasuke's unbridled smile would wane and his hands would be dipped in red.

Itachi looked away, unable to stomach the sight his head had formed, and thus ended up catching sight of Akemi's outraged expression before Akemi hid it away. Immediately Itachi understood Akemi felt the same, that neither of them wanted Sasuke to become a shinobi, though it was already inevitable.

However, it was while thinking this that Itachi also realized Akemi had given Sasuke's toy shuriken the same look he gave his real shuriken when he trained by himself. Akemi didn't just want Sasuke to never be a ninja, he himself didn't want to be one.

Akemi shrank back on the bed, wide-eyed, but Itachi quickly caught his shoulders, and ignoring Akemi's flinch, said, "I'm not angry."

Akemi looked away. "Nii-san—"

"I don't want you to be a ninja either."

Akemi swiveled around, mouth dropping open. "Y-you don't!?"

Itachi's eyes crinkled as he smiled a painful grin. "I don't want either of my brothers to be in danger." Sympathy welled in his eyes. "Or to have to do something they don't want to."

Akemi's eyes turned downcast. "It's okay, Nii-san. I know my role in this life, and there's nothing you can do to change it, so don't worry about it."

Itachi hated how tired and worn Akemi sounded, clearly having come to this realization long ago. It was true that as a clan heir Akemi could not escape the shinobi lifestyle. Unlike a less prominent member of the clan, who was free to enter the civilian population if they so pleased, Akemi had to be trained in case something happened to Itachi or Sasuke and he had to take over as the future clan head.

"I don't hate being a shinobi, by the way," Akemi picked at the lint on his bedsheets, frowning, "It's not my preferred choice of career, but at least as a medic-nin I'll help more than I'll harm." He spoke in that world-weary way of his, something Itachi attributed to his visions. No doubt any child would mature rapidly if they were born self-aware with a head full of knowledge.

Akemi laid back down, turning away from Itachi, and recognizing his twin didn't want to talk anymore, the eldest laid down beside him without a word. However, after a couple of minutes, Itachi turned, leaned towards Akemi, and whispered. "When I'm Hokage...I'll make it a choice." He grasped the bedcover tightly in his fists, having never dared to speak of his dream out loud, but knowing Akemi knew about it anyway, he resolutely said, "No one will have to be a shinobi if they don't want to be... Then you'll be able to do whatever you want, okay?"

Akemi didn't answer, and Itachi wondered if his words had been wasted until Akemi rolled over and burrowed into his side, arms sliding over Itachi's shoulders. No words were ever spoken, but between the two of them there never really needed to be.

**.**

Two months passed before Fugaku saw Orochimaru again.

To be fair to the Snake Sannin, Fugaku was so busy the first month he didn't even notice that so much time had gone by until he came home for lunch one afternoon and found Akemi at the table sporting a new look. His front hair was longer, the strands brushed to the side in a bang, and for the first time in his life, Akemi looked distinctively different from Itachi.

Mikoto gave him an odd look when he brought up Akemi's hair change, which made sense once his wife explained Akemi had been wearing his hair like that for weeks. It was then Fugaku realized Orochimaru hadn't contacted him for over a month, and outraged, the Uchiha had attempted to hunt the snake down, but the Sannin was out on a long-term mission and Fugaku did not have time to chase after him. Not when his clan was constantly demanding he do something to fix their ever deteriorating status, and every week it got a little harder to placate them. Pretty soon there would be no pacifying his fellow Uchiha, but Fugaku didn't want to think about that eventuality so instead drowned himself in his Village assignments and even put extra hours into the Police Force, personally finishing up all their crime reports so they could be submitted to the T&I Division on a timely manner.

One early morning Fugaku was doing just so inside Police Force HQ when he had to go downstairs and double check the date of an old cold case, only to stop short as he found a tall, pale figure sitting on a swivel chair, drumming his fingers idly on a metallic table full of empty flasks.

Fugaku gritted his teeth when Orochimaru had the audacity to raise a brow at him as if asking what took _him_ so long to show up.

"This building is on Uchiha district property," Fugaku marched over to the man and loomed over him with folded arms, though this merely seemed to amuse Orochimaru. "Any non-Uchiha entering the building without explicit permission is committing a crime."

"Is that so?" Orochimaru asked, feigning consideration before he smirked. "Well it's a good thing you need me then, hmm?"

"It's been two months," Fugaku growled because he didn't have a rebuttal.

"Now, now, Fugaku-san." The Uchiha's jaw clenched at the Sannin's patronizing tone. "We could throw accusations about who stood up who all morning, _or_ we can discuss what I've uncovered about that little boy of yours." A curious gleam entered his eyes. "If Akemi can be labeled as such."

Fugaku stilled, anger draining away because there was an implication there, Orochimaru _knew_ something.

The older man revealed his teeth when he saw he had Fugaku's attention, and airily explained. "I understand now why your forensics team struggled to find abnormalities in Akemi's bio-samples. That's because there are none, Akemi's body is perfectly human."

Fugaku scowled, stretching the tear troughs on his face. "I thought you said you found something," he spat. "Or were you lying—"

"At least," Orochimaru cut him off, "Akemi's samples appeared normal until I appraoched them from a new angle."

Orochimaru paused, clearly baiting the Uchiha, and as much as it stung his pride, Fugaku gave in and asked, "What did you do?"

Orochimaru's smirk broadened. "The problem is Akemi's body is no different from any other human's, so that is what all our tests showed. However, when you compare Akemi's samples to another person's…especially to someone who derived from the same zygote as him." A manic giddiness illuminated his face. "Then the abnormalities become clear."

Fugaku's eyes flashed red. "You have samples of Itachi!? How!?" He demanded, mind already conjuring images of the Snake Sannin stalking his son, but the pale man merely laughed.

"No need to panic." Orochimaru waved him down. "I have total access to the Konoha Hospital's records, and simply borrowed a few samples from Itachi's file."

Fugaku wanted to stew in his anger over the Hokage allowing such a snake to have easy access to private hospital records, but his need for answers took precedence. "What did you learn?"

Orochimaru's mouth curved up. "Akemi and Itachi have one hundred percent identical DNA."

Fugaku didn't speak, certain he'd misheard. Eventually though, he got his jaw working again and sputtered. "Of course they do—they're twins!" His chest heaved while he wondered if the Sannin's warped mind had finally taken a toll on his intellect.

Orochimaru frowned, looking equal parts offended and disappointed before he asked in his blandest tone, "You don't know much about identical twins, do you?"

Fugaku stiffened, realizing he was missing something, and refolded his arms as his eyes narrowed. "Identical twins come from the same fertilized egg, technically they were the same person until the zygote split into two eggs within their mother's womb."

"Yes, that is correct," Orochimaru faux clapped, clearly unimpressed.

Fugaku bristled until the man continued. "Twins do start life with identical DNA, however, once the twins are born, things begin to change." Fugaku's forehead scrunched together, uncertain where this was going. "They eat different things, take in different nutrients, and participate in differing activities, all of which impacts their height and weight among other aspects. This is why you can compare two twins and find one slightly shorter than the other, having a different shoe size or even suffering from a genetic disorder the other twin doesn't have."

Fugaku, frustrated by the long-winded explanation, demanded. "Just what are you saying, Orochimaru?"

"I'm saying," Fugaku flinched at the wave of white-hot killing intent that brushed over his senses, the Sannin glaring at him for his impatience, "Identical twins shouldn't have identical DNA after they're born. Yet Akemi's DNA is a _perfect_ replica of Itachi's."

Fugaku paled. "You mean Akemi is a _copy_ of Itachi?"

Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, pleased the younger man was starting to understand. "Yes, at least his body is. I even compared their fingerprints to be sure and—" Beads of sweat formed along Fugaku's brow while Orochimaru smirked. "Perfect match."

Fugaku's breath hitched, the man well aware as the leader of the Police Force that no two people had the same fingerprints. It was something that set every human apart from each other.

But Akemi wasn't human, was he?

Fugaku stared at the floor, hiding his expression as his heart raced. "But what could this mean?"

The Sannin shrugged. "If you want my opinion, Akemi is not Itachi's twin so much as he is a creature that copied Itachi's body while your son was still in the womb."

Fugaku had been thinking along similar lines, but hearing it aloud made it feel so much more real. "Akemi copied my son's body…" He exhaled harshly. "Did...did he not have a body before or... Why would he..."

Orochimaru was unfazed as he mulled it over. "Perhaps whatever creature Akemi is does not have a solid body, maybe he needed one so he somehow split Itachi's egg while it was in your wife's womb in order to give himself a host body. Perhaps your wife was just conveniently pregnant at the time or—" A cruel smirk curved Orochimaru's mouth. "Maybe Akemi wants something from your clan."

Fugaku's legs turned to jelly, and he took a seat beside Orochimaru before he could fall, squeezing his eyes close because it was as if everything he'd feared was being confirmed by the scientist.

"What can I do?" Fugaku hissed through his teeth, folding his hands on his lap to keep them from shaking. "Even with this evidence, Akemi has endeared himself to so many I doubt anyone will listen to me."

For a moment the Uchiha despaired in silence, but soon a voice whispered. "I could get rid of him for you."

Fugaku's head shot up. "What?"

Orochimaru smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Regardless of the creature's abilities, Akemi is still confined to the body of a seven-year old child that hasn't even graduated from the Academy. It would be easy for me to get him alone and... _remove_ him from your life."

Fugaku was too numb with shock to be sure, but he thought he was mildly horrified as he asked, "You want to _kill_ Akemi?"

Orochimaru angled his head, feigning confusion. "Well, of course, Fugaku-san. Akemi is an unknown threat, we can't just let him run free. Who knows what he's capable of or what he's planning. If we don't get rid of him now, Akemi could become a threat to not just your clan, but all of Konoha."

Fugaku massaged his forehead, but didn't say anything, _couldn't_ say anything. He didn't know what to do, it was all happening so fast. Just an hour ago he'd shared a meal with his wife, bid her goodbye, headed to work, all everyday things, and now here he was contemplating murdering his son—No, Akemi _wasn't_ his son…but that didn't make it any better, did it?

Regardless, the Sannin was right, callous and cruel maybe, but still correct. Good shinobi eliminated threats to their Village, no matter what form they took…and if Orochimaru got rid of Akemi, Itachi and Mikoto would grieve, but they would get over it one day…and Sasuke was so young he wouldn't even remember enough of Akemi to mourn.

Fugaku tried very hard not to remember Mikoto's tearstained face back when they thought one-year old Akemi may have drowned in the lake. Or the blind panic he felt when Mikoto told him Akemi was missing.

Fugaku sucked in a sharp breath of air, ignoring how the Sannin was watching him with all the focus of rattlesnake who had cornered a rat. "I need time," he admitted quietly. "To think over my options."

"I understand," Orochimaru inclined his head. "Take all the time you need." He got to his feet and stared down the Uchiha. "You'll find me when you're ready." He started to walk away, footsteps making not a sound. "I know you'll do what's right for the sake of your clan."

With that, Orochimaru's presence disappeared from the building, and Fugaku was left alone with his thoughts and choices.

**.**

Crickets chirped from their hiding place in the grass beside the dirt path Akemi was walking along. The boy could barely make out the Orphanage ahead through the shadows of night until he was standing right in front of it, pausing a moment to examine the school-shaped building curiously before climbing up the concrete steps and knocking on the door.

He waited a few seconds, but soon the door creaked open and Biwako's stern face greeted him.

"Hi, Biwako-sama." Akemi grinned, unbothered when Biwako's face didn't lessen in severity as he stepped in.

"Rule One." Akemi flinched, recalling how Biwako began their battle last week with similar words. "A medic-nin must never give up on treatment until their patient's dying breath."

Akemi's eyes fluttered and he cocked his head. "I'm mildly concerned by the amount of times you mention death around me."

Biwako didn't respond as she turned and shuffled down the hall. Akemi followed after a second, his senses on high alert even while they entered the lobby where a short woman wearing a black and white kimono, which reminded Akemi of a nun's outfit, smiled at them from behind a square oak table.

Biwako introduced Akemi to the caretaker called Keiri, a senior staff member, before leading him down the corridor to where the children were sleeping. Akemi calmed down once Biwako introduced him to a couple other caretakers, rationalizing that his mentor wouldn't attack him so close to slumbering children, and soon all his worries faded away when Biwako mentioned they were going to see the nursery.

The Uchiha was so busy wondering if he'd run into a certain blond toddler that he missed the sympathetic look the gray-haired caretaker shot him after Biwako ushered the man out of the nursery and waved Akemi in. The seven-year noticed Biwako didn't follow him into the dark room, but the cries of upset and hungry babies quickly distracted him. Akemi had to squint to see since only four bare windows allowed moonlight into the room, but eventually he could make out about two dozen cribs organized into four neat rows with spaces between them acting as aisles.

"This is where they keep children sixteen months and younger," Biwako explained unnecessarily, considering at least half of the babies were bawling at the top of their lungs. "I expect you to treat every infant in this room until they fall sound asleep."

"What?" Akemi whipped around but already the door was closing.

"I'll check on you in two hours!" Biwako called cheerily from behind the wooden door while what sounded like a heavy lock turned, ensuring Akemi couldn't leave the room.

For a minute the boy just stared slack-jawed at the doorway, but soon he slumped, and running a hand down his face, sighed. " _Aye,_ _yai, yai!"_ He muttered to himself in English. " _She left a seven-year old alone in a room full of babies, what is wrong with the adults in Konoha_?"

He shook his head, exasperated with Konoha's lack of child endangerment laws, before approaching the nearest sobbing child. "Good thing _tengo veintidós años_ actually."

Akemi fixed a smile on his face and reached down into the crib, carefully cradling the bawling infant dressed in a pink onsie. "Alright, let's see if we can get you fed."

Biwako returned to her office in Konoha Hospital, sitting down with a heavy exhale as she eyed the stacks of paper cluttering her desk. Some of them were reports on hospital management while others were requests for supplies or approval of new Hospital staff.

For thirty-nine minutes the head of the Hospital skimmed through paper after paper, signing off on some and stamping a handful.

Eventually she stopped to flex her cramped right hand, turning to gaze out the window until she stopped seeing floating statistics and kanji. Somewhere out there her husband was also going through mountains of paperwork, that or he had weaseled his way out of it, which he was prone to during the weekend.

Biwako clicked her tongue ruefully, resolving to give Hiruzen an unexpected visiting and a talking to if she found him slacking. After all, why should Biwako be the only one to suffer?

A soft knock on the door brought the medic-nin out of her daydream, and idly she said, "Come in."

Biwako's eyes widened when Akemi poked his head in and smiled. "I'm done!"

Biwako stared at him. "D-done?"

Akemi's smile melted into confusion. "At least I assume I'm done, or did you want me to treat the older kids too? I checked on them, but they were all sleeping and the caretakers seemed to have it under control so I—"

Biwako held up her hand, and he quieted. "You mean...I left you in a room full of crying infants, and you got all of them to calm down and fall asleep...in forty minutes?" She squawked.

"Well, it was more like thirty-five since it took time to get here..." Akemi trailed off, noticing the woman was in shock. "I'm going to assume you meant for it to actually take two hours."

"How did you finish so fast?" Biwako demanded, recalling that even Taji had needed seventy minutes to settle all the babies, and by the end of it her clothes had been rumpled and her hair resembled a rat's nest.

Akemi's lips drew to a line, and in a deathly serious tone, he said, "I have a younger brother with the energy of a thousand suns and the lungs of an opera singer. Trust me, this was nothing."

Biwako blinked, but eventually just took his word for it. "I see."

"So is that all for tonight?" Akemi smiled again.

"Yes, Akemi-kun." The medic-nin rose. "You're done, and I can walk you home—"

Akemi shook his head. "There's no need, I'm only a shadow clone." Biwako's eyebrows inched towards her hairline because she hadn't even noticed Akemi's chakra was cut in half as a result of him splitting into a clone. "I'll pop myself so the real me knows he can leave the orphanage." He turned, but when his hand touched the doorknob, he paused.

"By the way," he looked back over his shoulder with a contemplative look. "Do you know if they have any leads on the masked man from _that_ night?"

Biwako blinked, surprised by the topic change. "My husband hasn't mentioned anything." Her mouth slanted down while she struggled not to recall that terrible night or that glimpse of a bright red eye gleaming from across the room. "And he would have told me if he did."

"Just like he's told you about the watchtower they've set up to spy on the Uchiha."

Biwako's jaw hit the desk, her eyes blown open. "What?"

Akemi examined her, then nodded in approval. "So you didn't know, why doesn't that make me feel better?" He muttered.

"Akemi-kun," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "What are you talking about?"

The Uchiha pinched the bridge of his nose, looking almost pained as he glared at the ground. "ANBU has been spying on my clan, they've even got a tower full of telescopes, maybe even surveillance cameras to watch us.

Biwako shook her head, heart thudding in her chest. "No, you must be mistaken—"

Akemi's features morphed into a stern yet somber frown, a look better suited for someone her own age. "I've sensed multiple ANBU's chakra signatures lingering outside the Uchiha compound, and even if I didn't, my father and the other adults are well aware we're being watched." His expression hardened. "We're shinobi too, ya know, did the Hokage really think we wouldn't notice?" His tone was bitter, but mostly sorrowful.

"Akemi..." Biwako's face pinched, the woman truly at a lost.

The shadow clone shook his head. "Whatever, it's not your fault. I just wanted to know if the Hokage believed me about the masked man not being an Uchiha, but clearly he doesn't trust me."

Biwako rounded her desk, but didn't reach out as the boy forced a smile. "Well, no matter. I'll see you on Wednesday, Biwako-sama. Night!" He nodded before he popped and left the woman staring at the space he'd occupied. Eventually she would return to her desk, and fail to focus on her paperwork for the rest of the night as she pondered what she'd just learned.

Sitting on the steps of the orphanage, Akemi twitched as the memories of his shadow clone filled his mind. For a second his face crumpled, but then he steeled himself and stood.

"So that's how it is, huh?" He turned to stare up at the night sky, a contemplative frown marring his face.

Akemi had been hoping his words would have at least made the Hokage doubt Uchiha involvement with the Nine-Tails Attack, but after nearly two years, it was clear the Hokage hadn't been swayed.

Yet already they had passed the halfway point to the Uchiha massacre, and though no one but him knew it, the clan only had six years remaining. As someone who'd existed for twenty-nine years, Akemi knew how fast those six years could pass if he let them.

But Akemi wasn't going to sit back and let his brothers suffer, so no more _viva la vida_.

Time to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me eight weeks to update, but it's another long chapter so I hope that satisfies everyone!
> 
> Thanks for all the wonderful comments and kudos! It's great seeing so many people are enjoying Akemi's journey into the Naruto world 😊 Also, everyone is welcome to comment in English or Spanish, I'll understand you either way/Les invitamos a revisar en Español o Inglés.
> 
> Next time: The calm before the storm... Fugaku learns how Hiashi met Akemi, and makes his final decision. Meanwhile Akemi prepares a dangerous move to prevent the massacre...


	8. Request

"Fugaku."

"Hiashi."

The Uchiha clan head stared at the Hyūga sitting behind a low table while his two Hyūga guards left the room, purposely bumping shoulders with the Uchiha as they passed.

Fugaku didn't acknowledge their rudeness, something which took Hiashi by surprise, though he didn't let the emotion show as he waved his hand towards the green zabuton on the opposite side of the table.

Wordlessly Fugaku sat on the pillow and in silence the two appraised each other.

Yet soon Hiashi said, "It's not often you seek an audience with me, Fugaku." He trailed off, quietly demanding an explanation.

"Hn." Fugaku grunted his agreement, but his gaze was unfocused and his mind seemed a million miles away.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes at the man's unusual behavior. "Let's skip the pleasantries. Why are you here, Fugaku?"

The question snapped the Uchiha out of his daze, and Fugaku's jaw clenched while he said, "You could say I'm here for an investigation of sorts..." Hiashi raised a thin brow, unused to Fugaku being anything less than blunt. "About Akemi."

Hiashi's brow inched higher. "Your son?" The Uchiha twitched oddly at the description. "In what regard?"

Fugaku crossed his arms and sighed. "I want to know how you two became aquatinted."

Hiashi frowned. "If you think I've done something inappropriate with your son—"

Fugaku's face flashed with surprise and he quickly shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that, I just..." The man gained a far off look before his shoulders fell and he exhaled. "Just, please," Hiashi's eyes widened because Uchiha did not _beg_ , "Tell me what you think of Akemi, tell me why he considers you a friend and why _you_ allow him that privilege."

Neither one mentioned that Hyūga didn't befriend Uchiha, each man knew Akemi and Hiashi's friendship was unusual without taking their clans' rivalry into account.

Hiashi's pale pupilless eyes bored into Fugaku's black ones. "Either I've severely misjudged you over the years, or you aren't acting like yourself." The Uchiha's expression tightened, but he didn't deny his statement. "However," Hiashi turned to the open window where the sunlight streamed in, "Today is a strange day."

Hiashi looked to the Uchiha. "As you know, the Hokage is on the brink of finalizing a peace treaty between Konoha and Kumo." Fugaku raised his head to show he was listening. "And the talks might be concluded as soon as tonight...so I suppose today is a day for putting aside old rivalries, if only temporarily."

Fugaku tried to hide his eagerness as Hiashi closed his eyes, forehead wrinkling in concentration. "To start at the beginning, I first met Akemi near the end of the Third War. I was at an udon stand, Akemi was already there, and while I was waiting to be served Akemi asked me if I knew when his fangs would come in…"

**.**

It took weeks for Akemi to schedule a training session with Shisui, the seven-year old finding much of his time outside the Academy eaten up by his apprenticeship and the community service hours that came with it.

So when Akemi woke up in his bed, turned to the clock on his dresser and saw he'd overslept, he jumped up like the house was on fire. Then he threw on his clothes, combed his hair with his hands, snatched his weapon pouches from the floor, and shunshined straight out of the window, as Shisui wouldn't be available to train him for another month and with disasters like the massacre looming ahead, Akemi couldn't wait that long to start mastering his sharingan.

The boy arrived on the forest floor and instantly sped down the winding path, his sandals slapping against the earth as he hissed. "Please still be there!"

He skidded to a stop in a clearing, lighting up once he spotted Shisui leaning against a tree with his eyes closed and arms folded across his chest.

Akemi was about to apologize for being nearly an hour late when Shisui cracked open an eye and said, "About time you showed up." He grinned. "I know turtles who move faster than you, and I don't mean the ninja kind."

Akemi relaxed, seeing Shisui wasn't mad, and smiled back. "Well, you know me," he shrugged, "I'm seven going on thirty."

Shisui chuckled, standing up from the tree. "I don't think thirty is that old."

Akemi's expression soured. "Tell that to my chronic back pain."

Shisui burst into laughter. "Okay, okay, _Oji-san_." Akemi stuck out his tongue at him. "Sooo," he sobered somewhat, "Did the exercise help?"

Akemi's face fell, though his tone was still light as he said, "Well, my chakra control is probably jonin level now thanks to how many times I tried out the exercise, but if you mean did it help me activate my sharingan," he slumped, "Then I've got _nada_."

Shisui frowned. "You couldn't turn on your sharingan? Not even for a second?" His brow creased since most Uchiha at least get their eyes to flash red when they performed the dōjutsu exercise Shisui had told Akemi about in passing last week.

"No." Frustration saturated Akemi's tone. "And I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong." He brought his hand up to rest under one eye. "I guided chakra to my eyes and let it sit there for a minute, but when I checked in the mirror they hadn't changed."

His face turned downcast. "I tried over and over again, and even put different amounts of chakra into my eyes to see if that was the problem, but nothing made a difference." He sighed.

Shisui hummed. "That is strange." He gazed into Akemi's black orbs. "But your dōjutsu isn't exactly normal, so I guess I shouldn't have expected the standard exercise to work for you." He looked up, tapping his cheek. "Though it's also possible something is preventing the chakra from reaching your optic nerves."

Akemi had considered that, and fretted over the possibility since one blockage could imply a larger problem with his entire chakra system. It probably wasn't that serious, but Biwako had given him a lecture on chakra-related heath issues just yesterday so Akemi was feeling a bit paranoid.

"Try the exercise again." Shisui's eyes bled into his three tomoe sharingan. "I'll watch your chakra and make sure it's actually reaching your optic nerves."

Akemi nodded, and turning his attention inwards, latched onto the warm electrical sensation in his core. He tugged it up, feeling the chakra run through his chest, neck, and nose before he branched it out to his eyes and filled them. The Uchiha made sure the chakra would stay there, then returned focus outwards.

Shisui's sharingan eyes were already darting over his face, pausing when they reached his ebony irises.

After a minute Shisui frowned. "You're performing the exercise perfectly." Akemi perked up, relieved it wasn't his fault his dōjutsu wasn't working. "The amount of chakra in your eyes should be enough to activate your sharingan."

Shisui's eyes faded back into their normal dark tone, his expression perplexed. "There's nothing obstructing the pathway from your brain to your optical nerves either so why won't—"

"Uchiha Akemi."

A kunai flicked into Akemi's hand and Shisui's eyes flashed into his sharingan while both spun towards the man outside the glade. Only for the younger Uchiha to pale.

"I was hoping to speak to you alone, Akemi-kun." Orochimaru stepped into the clearing with his sickly yellow eyes locked on the seven-year old. "But I don't mind the company of another Uchiha." He glanced at Shisui and Akemi's heartbeat skyrocketed, the chakra inside him swirling faster than a typhoon.

"Get back." Shisui ordered, tone authoritative and expression tight as he darted in front of Akemi with a raised kunai while the younger boy struggled to think of a way out of this because they couldn't take on Orochimaru. He'd kill them, and Shisui wasn't supposed to die this young so if he did it would be Akemi's fault for messing with the time—

Akemi stiffened, sensing something amiss. "Your chakra is..." He gaped. "Uchiha?"

Shisui blinked, surprised, but before the sannin could speak Akemi threw out his chakra to fully analyze Orochimaru's signature. The lack of malevolent intent quickly became apparent, as did the fact his signature didn't resemble a murky swamp. Rather it felt warm and inviting, smelled of fire and sugar, exactly like...

"Nii-san?" Akemi gasped.

Orochimaru froze, then frowned slightly before in a puff of smoke Itachi stood in his place, looking apologetic. "Sorry," Itachi bowed, "But we thought you might need a push to activate your sharingan."

"We?" Akemi turned to Shisui and the older boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Akemi scowled.

"Hey!" Shisui held up his hands. "I just thought there might be a chance the exercise wouldn't work for you, so I told Itachi if you were still struggling to summon your sharingan by the time we met up, you might need a little scare to bring it out."

Akemi was about to protest that he'd been more than a _little_ scared when Shisui pointed at his head. "And I was right!"

Akemi blinked, not comprehending until he realized his eyes felt warm and chakra was whirling rapidly within them.

Akemi gasped. "I...activated my sharingan?" He looked towards his twin, and when Itachi nodded a wide grin split his face. "Yes!" He smiled so hard his cheeks hurt because he'd finally done it! After two years of making zero progress he'd finally summoned his sharingan!

"You can't tell?"

Itachi's question cut through Akemi's enthusiasm and he turned to his twin in confusion, but soon realized it was odd that he couldn't tell his sharingan was on. Shouldn't the world look differently?

Akemi glanced around, yet nothing appeared to have changed. No chakra glowed around his companions, he couldn't see his chakra system through his hands, and nobody's movements were any more perceivable than usual.

Akemi squinted. "Not really, everything looks exactly the same as it did a minute ago." He regarded Shisui. "Shouldn't I be seeing more?"

Shisui didn't respond, too busy examining Akemi's golden irises and wondering why the unusual sharingan looked kind of familiar, but soon he snapped out of it and said, "Yes, though sometimes it takes a second for a new sharingan to fully activate. Try closing your eyes for a moment and see if that helps."

Akemi did, and with bated breath counted down from twenty in his head before tentatively opening his eyes.

Akemi's mouth dropped. "Wooah."

"Is it working?" Itachi asked, and Akemi turned to him only to start at the bright blue mist surrounding his brother's torso.

He whipped back to Shisui, but the same blue mist surrounded the older boy too, highlighting his chakra pathways and dyeing his eyes an even darker shade of blue probably because his sharingan was activated.

"It…" Akemi lost his voice, completely awed by what he was seeing.

Everywhere he looked something was glowing, the whole world a spectrum of radiant, pulsating colors. The trees, flowers, leaves and shrubs were on fire, burning in sunset orange flames probably due to the natural energy within them while the grass rolling in the wind and sparrows flying above moved in slow-motion. Akemi could even see the birds' muscles bunching and loosening while their wings extended and flapped.

"Akemi?"

The Uchiha jumped, having forgotten other people were with him. "Sorry," Akemi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It's working. Just everything looks weird." His golden eyes slid back to the scenery.

Shisui chuckled. "Well it takes some getting used..." His voice abruptly stopped, sharingan eyes widening as he stared at Akemi's forehead.

"Shisui?" Itachi asked while Shisui gawked.

"Your brain...the chakra is..." Shisui strode straight up to Akemi, peering down with his sharingan spinning. "Golden."

"Golden?" Itachi whispered, stunned. "But chakra is always blue unless it's a medical technique, which can be green."

Akemi went to respond, but instead inhaled sharply as pain pierced his eyes.

"Akemi!" Itachi grabbed his shoulder, helping his twin right himself when he nearly fell over.

"My eyes," Akemi gasped, hands slapping over them.

"Cut off your chakra now," Shisui urged, and the younger boy quickly obeyed. Though the chakra moved reluctantly, clinging to his optic nerves like gum before peeling away.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked, forehead wrinkled in concern while Akemi lowered his hands and peeked open his eyes.

"Yeah," Akemi nodded, face pale, "I don't know what happened, but my eyes started burning." He resisted the urge to cover them again as they throbbed.

"It sounds like you overtaxed your sharingan." Shisui frowned. "But that doesn't make any sense, you didn't use any dōjutsu abilities."

Akemi smiled weakly. "Well, it seems my sharingan doesn't like playing by the rules."

Shisui laughed. "If there's one thing we've learned today, it's that." His expression grew serious. "I don't think you should try using your sharingan again unless I or Itachi are around to watch you."

Akemi nodded, not wanting to use such an unpredictable dōjutsu without supervision.

"Take your brother home, Itachi," Shisui turned to his friend. "And make sure he eats something." He frowned at Akemi, examining his chakra system one last time before disengaging his sharingan. "He's suffering from mild chakra exhaustion." Though Shisui couldn't explain how that happened when Akemi's sharingan had simply been on for a couple of minutes.

Itachi inclined his head while his twin asked, "But what about the chakra around my brain? You said it was golden." Akemi sounded worried. "Do you think I should get it checked out by a specialist?"

Shisui crossed his arms, lips pursing. "You could, but we don't really know why your sharingan is so different, and if it turns out it isn't mutated, but actually a new form of the Sharingan—"

"Then your eyes would be considered a clan secret." Itachi's frown deepened, recognizing the seriousness of the matter.

"Oh," Akemi looked down. "I guess you're right." He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Maybe I'll hold off on getting an examination until we know more."

He raised his head and his lips hitched up. "Still, thanks for helping me out, Shisui."

The older boy grinned. "Anytime."

Then Itachi muttered his goodbye before he and Akemi headed back up the trail.

Neither spoke for a few minutes until Akemi quietly asked, "Nii-san?" Itachi turned to him. "You know how Shisui said the chakra around my brain looks weird...didn't the ninja cats at Nekobaa's place say something similar?"

Itachi blinked, mind going back to the incident from months ago.

_"Your chakra... No human could maintain so much..."_

Itachi's brow furrowed, realizing Denka had said Akemi's chakra was different. "Yes, Denka did." The two stepped out of the woods and entered the stone path leading to their house. "You think he was talking about what Shisui saw?"

Akemi didn't respond for a moment, but eventually looked up and beamed. "Nah! Just thinking maybe I should have been born a Nara. No crazy dōjutsu in that clan," he muttered.

Itachi didn't laugh, recognizing his brother's deflection for what it was, and Akemi noticing, didn't speak again until they arrived home.

**.**

Hiashi sat on a stool, posture perfect and hands folded neatly upon his lap while the stand owner moved back to stir a boiling pot on the stove.

"Excuse me, Hyūga-san." A childish voice chirped and Hiashi turned left to see a dark-haired boy with matching raven eyes looking up at him from two seats away. The child appeared no older than four, which begged the question of where his parents were, assuming he wasn't an orphan or clan child.

"Do you know when I'll grow my fangs?" The boy asked over the clamor of people passing by in the bright-lit street behind them.

"Fangs?" Hiashi quirked a brow, wondering if the boy was an Inuzuka. However, members of that clan grew their sharp canines along with their other baby teeth, so the boy would have his "fangs" by now if he were one.

The toddler bared his pearly whites and poked at them. "Or do you think the fangs are already there, but they can go in and out like a cat's claws?"

The Hyūga frowned, not wanting to cruelly ignore a mere toddler, but having no idea what the boy was rambling about.

"I think they must go back in," the youth decided when he didn't answer. "Otherwise people would have realized by now my clan is full of vampires."

Hiashi's head was starting to spin, and tiring of his confusion, he glanced at the child's t-shirt.

A red and white fan gazed back, surprising the Hyūga. Then again, this Uchiha child was probably too young to know about the rivalry between their clans, and Hiashi didn't want to be the one to introduce him to it, so in a polite tone he asked, "You think Uchiha are vampires?"

"Yes." The boy cocked his head. "Don't you?"

"No." Hiashi watched the stand owner place a plastic take-out bag in front of the boy, and believing the child was about to depart, he faced frontwards.

Thus he was staring at the stand owner's back, calculating how much longer his udon would take to boil when the Uchiha asked, "Why not?"

"I don't believe such creatures exist," Hiashi said without looking at him, still thinking the child was about to leave.

Therefore he didn't notice the boy's cheeks puffing up with indignation until the Uchiha hopped over the seats and plopped down right next to him. "Why does everyone say that?" The child glared, hands balling up. "I mean there are talking animals, zombie jutsu, and moon aliens in this crazy world, so how are vampires any weirder than those?"

"Moon aliens?" Hiashi couldn't help but ask since he had a good idea what the other two were.

The boy faltered, seeming surprised Hiashi was actually listening, but soon recovered. Then, ebony orbs sliding back and forth suspiciously, he leaned forward and whispered. "I know you Hyūga are actually moon aliens." Hiashi's brow rose, having not expected his clan to be the one deemed aliens. "That's why your eyes look like that." The child shifted back, smirking and crossing his arms confidently. "Everyone knows aliens don't have pupils."

Well, put like that Hiashi could follow the boy's logic. Aliens were often depicted in books and television shows as having pupilless or generally strange eyes.

"I can imagine why you think Hyūga are aliens..." The man surreptitiously checked to see if his udon was almost ready, and seeing it wasn't, decided to ask, "But why do you think they're from the moon?"

The child shrugged. "The moon is pretty and you guys have pretty hair."

Hiashi nearly fell over, having expected a more logical reason.

"Also you call yourselves 'Hyūga', which means something like 'basking in the sun', so I figure you're using the name to coverup the fact you're from the sun's opposite, which is the moon."

Hiashi, shocked by the boy's reasoning, which while odd was highly advanced for a four-year old, didn't respond right away, and by the time the Hyūga found his voice the Uchiha was again ranting. "My dad says we're not, but come on! We've got red eyes that can hypnotize people, wear dark clothes with high collars," he tugged at his own shirt for emphasize, "And most of us have black hair and pale skin. We are so vampires!"

Hiashi's udon bowl was set before him, yet inexplicably fascinated by the boy's mind, he didn't eat, but said, "And I suppose the Inuzuka are werewolves."

The child's eyes lit up. "Exactly!" His face fell. "Though they really need to work on hiding it better."

Hiashi almost asked another question when a preteen boy suddenly parted from the crowd behind them and walked up to the toddler. "Akemi-kun?"

The toddler looked back with a broad grin. "Obito-sama!" He glanced at Hiashi. "Nice talking to you, Hyūga-san, but I gotta get going." He leapt over to his original seat and grabbed his take-out bag before hopping to the floor.

"Hyūga?" Obito peered at Hiashi from behind orange goggles, which did little to hide his dark Uchiha eyes.

Suddenly the preteen tensed, clearly recognizing the rival clan head, but before he could speak Akemi said, "Hey, what are you standing around for?"

Obito blinked. "Huh?"

Akemi frowned. "Didn't you challenge Bakakashi to a race yesterday? You said you were going to beat him to Minato's place today."

Obito remained blank faced for a moment, but soon his eyes widened. "Oh, no!" He grasped his hair. "I forgot!"

He danced in place as he panicked until abruptly he froze. "Wait! I got it!" Obito swiftly reached down to pick up the toddler and swing him onto his shoulders, forcing Akemi to grab his head with a startled cry.

"O-Obito!? What are you—"

"You steer, I'll run, and together we'll show that Kakashi who's faster!"

Akemi's protest was lost to the wind as the preteen shot off into the crowds like a rocket, Hiashi staring after them until he heard Akemi shout. "Look out for that—"

A cat howled.

"Ahh! Get it off of me!"

"Obito-sama!?"

Their voices faded into the crowd, and Hiashi turned back to his steaming tempura udon, shaking his head. "To be young..." He sighed, reaching for a pair of chopsticks before losing himself in his meal.

Hiashi was merely a block away from the Hyūga compound when a man sneered. "Hey, Blind Eyes!"

The clan head stopped, recognizing the derogatory slur often aimed at his fellow clansmen, though few would dare say it in his presence.

Unless of course the speaker wasn't in their right mind, which was exactly what the Uchiha standing outside of a bar across the street seemed to be. Some concerned or perhaps bored civilians were already gathered around the inebriated Uchiha while the man pointed wildly at two annoyed-looking Hyūga.

A trickle of trepidation ran down Hiashi's spine at the sight, and realizing he might need to intervene, he strode across the street while the drunk shouted. "Your Byakugan can't do half the things our Sharingan can! That's why you Blind Eyes were so useless during the war!"

The two Hyūga were starting to turn red in the face and their postures screamed they were gearing for a fight, so Hiashi picked up the pace as he dove into the throng of people.

Yet he was still making his way to the front row when the Uchiha said, "I bet you can't even dodge this!" He charged the younger Hyūga, throwing a sloppy punch at him, only for the teenager to catch his fist and toss the drunk over his shoulder.

The teen was merely defending himself, everyone watching could attest to that, but clearly the Uchiha didn't see it that way because the second after he crashed onto the ground, the drunk lurched up with sharingan eyes blazing.

The teen gasped while the older Hyūga immediately summoned his Byakugan and raised his hands in a fighting stance as the Uchiha stood.

Yet neither could do a thing before a small body flew in between them. "Stop!" A young voice cried out, though Hiashi couldn't see the speaker from his position.

"Huh?" The drunk blinked, intoxicated mind struggling to comprehend the child's sudden appearance. "Who are—"

"If you don't leave these Hyūga alone," the child cut in seriously. "I'll tell the head of the Police Force you abandoned your post to get drunk at a bar."

Hiashi finally slid into the first row, and his eyes widened when he saw Akemi standing in front of two very confused Hyūga and glaring at his fellow Uchiha.

The drunk eventually registered what the boy had said, and his expression switched from confusion to arrogance. He laughed. "As if the head of the Police Force would believe a brat like you over one of his best captains!" He patted the Police Force insignia on his arm confidently.

Akemi's lips curved into a smirk. "Maybe he wouldn't believe some brat," he crossed his arms, "But considering the head of the Police Force is my dad," the drunk's eyes popped open, "And everyone here saw you walk out of that bar, I think he'll be willing to hear me out."

Akemi smirked viciously, and it was like all the alcohol drained out of the drunk's body as he took in the mass surrounding him, having not noticed the people until now.

The Uchiha swallowed thickly at the disapproval on many of the civilians' faces before turning back to Akemi. He glowered at him and the Hyūga, but after a tense moment, his sharingan blinked off.

"No glory in fighting some Blind Eyes anyway." The Uchiha humphed, holding his head high while he turned and staggered away.

Akemi scowled after him, but eventually faced the Hyūga. "I'm sorry for what my clansman said." He bowed low. "That man is a fool, so please don't hold his stupid words against my clan!" His voice shook with his earnestness.

The two Hyūga appeared as dumbfounded as Hiashi felt while most of the crowd openly gaped at the Uchiha child bowing to members of his rival clan.

Yet soon the older Hyūga said, "No harm was done," his Bykaguan receded, "So we will consider the matter forgotten."

The teen didn't speak, but kept gawking at the bowing child until the older Hyūga dragged him away.

The crowd dispersed then, seeing the show was over, and Hiashi was about to leave too when a young woman beside him whispered. "Can't believe Fugaku's son bowed to a Hyūga."

Hiashi froze, suddenly realizing what Akemi had said while threatening the drunk. That boy who thought his clan was supernatural wasn't merely a child of the Uchiha clan, but their clan heir. Fugaku's _son_.

Hiashi was too stunned to move until Akemi walked up to him, his concerned expression stretching the long lines on his face—and how did Hiashi not notice his tear troughs were in the same place as Fugaku's?

"Are you okay, Hyūga-san?" Akemi's lips twisted with worry—just like Mikoto's did when she was concentrating.

"Yes." Hiashi nodded stiffly, shaking off the images of Akemi's parents. "I must get going now." He hurried ahead, sensing the boy's eyes following him worriedly, and no wonder Hiashi hadn't realized the boy was Fugaku's son.

His dark hair, lightly tanned skin, and deep tear troughs may have came from his father, but when it came to his heart, the two couldn't be more different, and for that Hiashi was grateful.

**.**

Fugaku's eye twitched and he stared irritatedly at the Hyūga across the table. "You find Akemi's company acceptable because he's nothing like me?" He sounded offended.

"Didn't you ask me to be honest?" Hiashi's voice was cool, but Fugaku didn't need his sharingan to perceive the Hyūga's smugness.

Fugaku scowled while Hiashi's expression turned contemplative. "Though it is not merely his dissimilarity to you which makes his company preferable." The Uchiha narrowed his eyes wearily, but the other man was facing the window again, the orange sunlight dyeing his white irises a golden yellow. "But there's something about him..."

**.**

Hiashi stared at the baby in Akemi's arms.

The baby glared back, his little hand reaching out of his sling to clutch Akemi's shirt, and now this child was undoubtedly Fugaku's.

Akemi beamed and his smile was all Mikoto's as he gushed. "Isn't he the cutest, most precious bundle of joy you've ever seen?"

Hiashi wasn't sure he could apply any of those adjectives to the infant scowling at him like he wanted to throw his milk bottle at his head. However, if Hiashi looked past the glaring, the baby's rosy cheeks and wide, obsidian eyes were rather charming.

"He is," Hiashi conceded before taking a sip of his green tea while Akemi wiggled his fingers in front of his little brother's face, and like a light being flipped, the baby went from glaring to giggling.

Behind Hiashi at another table a young couple cooed at the baby and Hiashi could more easily see the child's cuteness now that he wasn't glaring daggers at him, but he didn't reveal this as he asked, "Is there any particular reason you decided to interrupt me during my lunch break?"

"Does wanting to show off the cutest baby in Konoha count as a reason?" Akemi batted his long eyelashes while his baby brother caught his index finger and tugged at it.

Hiashi ignored the tiny part of him that wanted to gush over the baby as he flatly said, "No."

"Okay," Akemi accepted, unbothered. "But to be honest, the real reason I'm here is to take a break from the war."

Hiashi blinked. "War?" Konoha hadn't been engaged in conflict for nearly a year now, so what was the boy talking about?

"Yes, the war." Akemi's face scrunched up with loathing as he hissed. "The war against inbreeding."

If Hiashi were a lesser man, he would have fallen out of his seat, but somehow he kept it together while Akemi pulled out a stack of documents and started explaining the detrimental effects of inbreeding. He lectured Hiashi for over an hour, so by the time the Hyūga finally escaped and walked home, he was too dazed to notice his wife taking the documents out of his hands.

Reading over the data and statistics Akemi had given him, his wife hummed. Then she raised her head and said, "This is all verified and accepted facts in the science community." Her eyes crinkled in uncertainty. "You say a five-year old gave you these?" She released a soft sound of disbelief when he nodded. "What a remarkable child."

Hiashi thought about what she said for the rest of the day, pondering that word "remarkable".

He thought about it the day Akemi got a program approved by nearly every clan in Konoha when a year ago that same program would have never made it off the Hokage's desk. He thought about it when he saw the Uchiha child walking up the side of a building while talking avidly to a silver-haired ANBU without stumbling once. He thought about it when he found Akemi reading a thick biology textbook in the library and the Uchiha pronounced he was going to become a medic-nin, and a year later Hiashi's wife told him Biwako-sama had taken on a new apprentice, an Uchiha to everyone's shock.

However, Hiashi wasn't thinking of Akemi at all the day he took a stroll through a park one early autumn morning. He didn't even recognize the child sitting by his lonesome on a park bench until after he passed him.

Hiashi looked back and frowned when he noticed the seven-year old was staring dully at the ground, misery etched into his face.

The fallen leaves twirled in the wind between them, yet the child acknowledged neither them nor the Hyūga standing a few yards away. Hiashi had never seen the boy so still, Akemi always busy doing something or the other that he practically ran circles around the Village day in and day out, so maybe that was why it was so disturbing to see the child like this.

Hiashi considered approaching the Uchiha when another boy identical to Akemi in every way, save for his longer hair, ran up to the child.

The boy Itachi—if Hiashi wasn't mistaken—slowed to a stop in front of Akemi. The older twin bent his head and spoke in a low, quiet tone, and though Akemi grinned at whatever his brother said, the sadness remained in his eyes.

Itachi stopped talking, perhaps realizing the futility of his words, and perched beside his twin with a reserved expression that didn't belong on such a young face.

After a couple of minutes, Akemi slumped, his body listing until his head fell upon his brother's shoulder.

Itachi didn't hesitate to twine his arms around his sibling and pull him in closer, but Hiashi stopped watching after that. Instead he carried on down the path, trying not to think about why he and Hizashi could never love each other like that.

**.**

Biwako entered her husband's office and gracefully stepped aside while Danzo walked past her on his way out the door. She felt his lone eye on her and ignored his unconcealed contempt, for she was too old to deal with petty grievances.

"Biwa?" Hiruzen looked up from a document on his desk, an ink brush in hand and surprise on his face.

Biwako approached his desk, expression stern as she inclined her head. "I know you're busy and probably have little time to spare, but there is an issue we must address, which I can no longer keep to myself."

The Sarutobi set down his brush and sat up in his chair, recognizing this wasn't a conversation from wife to husband, but from the Head of Konoha Hospital to the Hokage. "Go on."

Given permission, Biwako raised her head and looked the man in the eyes. "Do you have ANBU agents spying on the Uchiha?"

The Hokage's expression didn't change, but his tone was carefully curious as he said, "Why do you ask?"

"Because my apprentice is an Uchiha and if there is a threat to his safety I need to know." The medic-nin's short tone left no room for an argument.

The male Sarutobi frowned. "Biwa," he sighed, "As Hokage there are some things I simply cannot tell you."

"I know that." The woman's expression grew pinched and her eyes shut while she exhaled through her nose. Yet when she opened them, her eyes were hard as steel. "But whether you tell me or not, I am aware of the situation now, so you might as well elaborate."

The Hokage held her gaze, but soon he looked away. "I suppose you're right, though tell me first, who told you about the ANBU?"

"Akemi-kun." Biwako smirked at her husband's blatant shock. "His sensory abilities are one of the strongest I've ever seen," her pride faded as she glowered, "Which is why he can't understand how the Hokage didn't believe him when he said that masked man was not an Uchiha."

Hiruzen shook his head. "The boy was only five-years old, he could have been mistake—"

"Is that my husband speaking or Danzo's suspicions coming through him?" Biwako crossed her arms while Hiruzen's shoulders fell, clearly taking the admonishment to heart.

"It seems I may have underestimated young Akemi's sensory ability." The Hokage's expression tightened. "But it wasn't just that which made me doubt the boy." He stared critically at his desk. "Akemi is Fugaku's son, he might have been told to lie and—"

"Impossible."

Hiruzen blinked. "What?"

Biwako shook her head, and her expression softened as she implored. "Uchiha Akemi is one of the most honest people I know." When her husband moved to speak, she raised her hand and he stopped. "I know he's only been my apprentice for six months, but I've been a shinobi for over sixty years, and I would know if he's been lying to me."

She waited for Hiruzen to nod his acquiesce before continuing. "Akemi-kun is an honest boy and though he can keep a secret as well as any shinobi child, he does not enjoy lying to others." She smiled. "He's much happier when he can be himself, unabashedly and without restraint."

The smile left her. "Furthermore, even if Akemi were to lie, I doubt it would be for his father's sake." Hiruzen's brow furrowed while she said, "I get the sense they do not see eye-to-eye on most matters." She looked back at her husband. "That's why I can confidently say if Akemi thinks the masked man is not an Uchiha, you would do well to believe him."

Hiruzen stared at her, noting the shine to her eyes. Eventually he grinned. "You really adore that boy, don't you?"

Biwako's mouth curved up, eyes crinkled with fondness. "I would not have accepted him as my apprentice if I didn't believe in his potential."

"Hokage-sama!"

Biwako spun back and Hiruzen lurched to his feet when the door burst open and a masked guard gasped in the doorway, his chest heaving.

"What is it?" The Hokage demanded, having never seen this ANBU so agitated.

"There was an intruder in the Hyūga district." Biwako and Hiruzen's eyes widened. "He attempted to kidnap the clan heir."

"Did he escape?" The Hokage asked, voice steady though his body was tense.

"No, he was killed, but Hokage-sama." The ANBU hesitated, then said, "The intruder used a sharingan to knock out the Hyūga guards."

"Uchiha?" Hiruzen's pupils shrank with horror.

"I knew that cursed clan would betray us eventually." Danzo seemed to materialize in the room, having slipped inside unnoticed. "The Uchiha were clearly trying to hold the Hyūga clan hostage by—"

"No," the ANBU cut in, making Danzo glare. "This man only has one sharingan eye and he was...wearing a mask."

Biwako inhaled sharply and for a second Hiruzen didn't understand until it struck him. "The masked man who attacked Konoha..." His entire body rocked with the news because there was no way the man they'd been searching had returned to the very Village he tried to destroy with the Nine-Tails over two years ago.

"Call Fugaku and Hiashi immediately." The Hokage refocused, as this wasn't the time to ruminate.

The ANBU shook his head. "They already know what happened and are currently occupied at Konoha Hospital."

Biwako moved towards him. "Were they injured?" She entered full medic-nin mode, voice terse and unyielding. "I can—"

"It wasn't them—"

"Perhaps we should get answers from a direct source," Danzo said, already turning to leave. "Clearly this is a matter that involves all of Konoha." He didn't wait for them to respond before using shunshin to rush to the hospital, and it wasn't long before everyone else ran after him.

**.**

"Do you understand yet, Fugaku?" Hiashi asked placidly. "Do you see why I find Akemi's company so appealing?"

Fugaku's eyes were steely. "No, I don't."

The Hyūga was unperturbed by his stubbornness. "Then allow me to simplify it." The Uchiha bristled while Hiashi rested his chin atop his hands and said, "I don't enjoy Akemi's company because he is different from you."

The Hyūga closed his eyes, and when he opened them, their harsh edges had softened. "I enjoy being around Akemi because he is different from _everyone_."

Fugaku's expression chilled to ice and his tone was equally frigid. "Doesn't that concern you?"

Hiashi raised a brow. "Why would it?"

Anger seeped into Fugaku's cool expression. "You see it...you know that boy is strange, and yet you don't perceive him as a threat? Why!?" He demanded.

Hiashi waited for the Uchiha to calm down, and once he did, the Hyūga asked, "Does Akemi truly scare you so much?"

"What!?" Fugaku flew into a stand, fists clenched. "I am not—"

"Fugaku."

The Uchiha stiffened, rage leaving him as Hiashi finally let his mask break enough for him to sigh. "We have known each other since our Academy days, so excuse me if it's presumptuous, but I think I know how to read my own rival's emotions." His face hardened. "Especially when he's been doing such a poor job of hiding them all day."

Fugaku blinked, suddenly realizing the sole light in the room was moonlight. Had...had he really spent the entire evening here?

"Then again." Fugaku turned back to Hiashi. "It's not really me you're lying to, is it?"

Fugaku glared. "What are you talking about?" He snapped, irritated that he was being interrogated when he was supposed to be the one asking questions.

"Is it really Akemi you're afraid of?" Hiashi mused aloud. "Or what he represents?"

Fugaku frowned, oddly unsettled by the pale pupilless eyes boring into him. However, the man's answer never made it past his lips as someone's chakra flared like a siren going off.

Fugaku whipped back and Hiashi swiftly rose, both shocked by the chakra signature flaring and dropping in a shinobi's standard call for help.

"Byakugan," Hiashi called upon his dōjutsu and stared through the wall, only for his breath to hitch.

"Hiashi?"

The Hyūga took off through the doorway and Fugaku activated his sharingan as he chased after him into the brisk nighttime air, rounding the corner of Hiashi's house to enter an alleyway. Just to halt at the scene.

Fugaku's sharingan eyes widened as they landed on the two bodies sprawled across the dirt road. One man lied flat on his back between two plotted plants, his left eye staring unseeingly at the moon while his right eye glowed a dull red, and Fugaku choked when he realized that was a S _haringan_ in the man's head.

Therefore the Uchiha hardly noticed Hiashi crouching over the second body, or the way the Hyūga's face broke as he took in Hizashi's gray yukata drenched with blood while two-year old Hinata cried in Shisui's arms and Akemi held his hands against Hizashi's side with trembling arms before looking up to whisper. "Help him, please."

Hiashi dropped to his knees, palms glowing with medical ninjutsu too weak to stitch up even a scraped knee, but if it kept his brother alive, Hiashi would try.

**.**

"He said we should never trust him." Itachi walked beside Shisui on the hilltop above the docks. "And that you especially should keep up your guard around him."

Shisui's brow furrowed. "Did he say why?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, he just said Councilman Danzo is a ninja Nazi," he stumbled a little on the foreign word, "And that he's a treacherous liar."

Shisui bowed his head, thinking hard. "And this Danzo approached you?"

"Hai," Itachi said, and seeing the older boy's expression dip into concern, added. "But Akemi told me I don't have to worry about him for many years."

"Good." Shisui exhaled, relieved, and Itachi didn't dare ruin it by bringing up the dark look in Akemi's eyes as he talked about Councilman Danzo.

His brother's black orbs had been burning, voice disgusted while he explained. "Danzo only sees two types of people in this world. Those who are threats and those he can use to eliminate the supposed threats." Itachi's features crinkled with apprehension while Akemi sat in the windowsill of his bedroom.

"You're safe for now because Danzo thinks you're like most kids, naive and easy to trick..." His twin's face darkened. "But you're not always going to be a kid, Nii-san, and the older you get, the stronger you become..." He didn't finish, but Itachi knew what he was saying, and while it certainly worried him, Itachi didn't let the news overwhelm him.

Even if this Councilman was currently a threat, one day Itachi would be the strongest shinobi in Konoha, and he would deal with the man then. Though for now he would heed his brother's advice and stay under the man's radar for as long as he could.

"Shisui-san!"

The duo paused on the hillside, Shisui turning back with a grin while Itachi's eyes lightened, though he didn't smile, as Akemi ran towards them.

"What's up, Akemi-kun?"

Akemi caught his breath and grinned. "Biwako-sama has me working on a fundraiser for the Family Exchange Program. It's a part of my community service hours, but the time only counts if I get people to buy something." He pulled out a large envelope and pen from his satchel, tucking them under his arm. "You want to help me out by buying a weasel?"

Itachi raised a brow. "You're selling live animals?"

On the other hand Shisui's face lit up like a little child during the Rinne Festival. "Oh, oooh! You're selling those La Chancla guardians, aren't you?"

Itachi blinked twice, utterly lost while Akemi nodded. "Yup!" He reached into his satchel and withdrew three small objects. "We've got mini-weasel chains to put on your kunai," he held up the tiny metal weasel, "Stuffed animals," he squeezed the toy and it squeaked, "And this statue."

Shisui's mouth formed an 'O' and Itachi's eyes widened at the golden statue depicting Itachi standing tall and holding up a weasel in his hand.

"The statues are really popular with Academy students." Akemi winked and his brother's face reddened.

"I definitely want the statu—"

Itachi glared death at Shisui, and the older boy rubbed the back of his head, chuckling. "I'm kidding, kidding." He looked back at Akemi. "Give me a kunai chain."

Akemi handed the tiny weasel figurine to him and Shisui pulled out some bills while Itachi, still blushing, said, "I'll wait for you on the water." The boy hastily shuffled down the hill.

Akemi and Shisui shared a look before bursting out laughing. "O-okay," Akemi tried to stifle his giggles, "Let me write you down." He scribbled something on his envelope before stuffing the money into it as the older boy took out a kunai and started tying the little weasel onto the handle.

"Hey, Shisui."

The boy looked up to see Akemi frowning slightly, eyes serious. "There's something else I need your help with." He looked off to the side. "See, there's this event that's supposed to happen next year that I need help setting up."

Shisui's hand had stilled on his kunai, recognizing the true meaning behind Akemi's words.

"Normally I'd ask Itachi for help," Akemi said idly. "But I'm not sure he would allow me to go to this event."

Shisui stared gravely at him. "If it's something your brother wouldn't let you go to, am I to assume it's dangerous?"

Akemi smiled sharply. "Yes, but if I don't go people are going to get hurt, and I don't think my one life is worth sacrificing for the hundreds in our clan."

Shisui gasped, seeing the severity of Akemi's mission while the boy went on. "I've failed more than once over the years with planning events, and I know why now." His head lowered in shame. "I relied on myself too much, and never asked for help because I didn't want anyone else to get hurt...but that was foolish." He looked up, scowling determinedly. "I can't do everything on my own and this next event is too much for me by myself, so Shisui-san." Akemi's mouth thinned into a line. "Will you help me?"

Shisui turned to gaze down the hill where Itachi was already standing on the lake's surface, practicing his taijutsu. His eyes narrowed. "I don't know if I'll like this event of yours, but if it's for the good of the clan—"

"The Village is my clan."

Shisui's head jerked up in shock to see Akemi smiling. "And a clan is a family." His eyes creased with resolve. "And I'll always protect my family... _para siempre_ ," he vowed.

Shisui looked back down the hill. "To protect our precious people, huh?" His eyes were on Itachi as he flashed his teeth. "For them, I'll do anything."

Akemi's face twitched. "I know, Shisui," he smiled sadly, staring down at the lake water and trying not to hear the cry of a waterfall while a young boy threw himself into its depths. "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support and lovely comments! They're a joy to read ☺️ And I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!
> 
> Next time: Akemi made a gamble, and now everyone has to deal with the consequences...
> 
> Until then, stay safe!


	9. Revealing

Akemi sat in the window seat of the classroom, his finger moving down the page of a hefty biology textbook on the table. He scribbled notes in English on lined paper beside it because although he had learned a lot of Japanese over the almost eight years he'd lived in the _Naruto_ world, that just didn't compare to the twenty-two years he spent speaking English and Spanish.

The school bell rang and Akemi blinked, looking up at the clock over the blackboard. Lunchtime already? He'd been studying so hard he hadn't even noticed the hours passing.

"Akemi-kun."

The Uchiha turned to see Saisu grinning down at him. "You ready for lunch, or do we have to fish you out of that big brain of yours first?" He rapped his fist against Akemi's head jokingly.

"Better than you who doesn't use his head for anything except growing freaky hair." Inuzuka Hana muttered while gathering her schoolbooks from the desk behind them.

Saisu glared at her. "What you say, dog-breath?"

Hana scowled. "You heard me, loser."

"More like _smelled_." Saisu sneered.

The two stared heatedly at each other, and Akemi sighed. " _Niños_... _tan inmaduros_." He stood up, grabbing his supplies and putting them in his satchel as he said, "Actually, Saisu, I gotta get to work."

Hana and Saisu broke out of their staring match to frown at him. "Again?" The girl asked, sounding disappointed.

Akemi winced, aware he hadn't been sticking around for lunch lately since technically his half-day ended at lunchtime and he had a number of more important things to do than eat with his friends. Still, he felt bad for ditching them.

"Yeah," the Uchiha looked away, "But I'll still see you after school for our study session."

Hana nodded in acceptance while Saisu asked, "And the festival, you're coming this weekend, right?"

"Festival?" Akemi questioned as he headed down the steps with his friends following. "What festival?"

Hana raised a brow. "Haven't you heard about it?"

"Nope!" Akemi shrugged before beaming. "But I'm down for any _fiesta_ , so what time do you guys want to go?"

"Fiesta?" Hana asked, puzzled by the foreign word while Akemi dropped off his research essay on the teacher's desk, which was five pages long and assigned to him just earlier this morning.

The teacher didn't question how the boy had gotten it done so fast. Akemi was a brilliant student and reigned top of his class ever since his brother graduated. Therefore, the Academy teacher could only sigh in acceptance as he glanced over Akemi's essay.

 _This evidence proves the Sharingan's_ _hypnosis_ _ability is the main reason nations outside of the Land of Fire believe in vampires—_

The teacher's mouth hit the floor. He had only told his students to pick a Kekkei Genkai and describe its abilities, but it seemed Akemi had "broadened" the topic.

Akemi didn't notice his teacher hitting his head against the desk and groaning in despair as he walked out of the classroom between Hana and Saisu. "So five o'clock Saturday? Sounds good to me!"

The Uchiha stood outside of the Academy and waved his schoolmates goodbye. The two waved back from behind the fenced courtyard until Akemi turned towards the road leading to the Uchiha district.

"Wait, Akemi-kun!"

The Uchiha looked back at the chainlink fence and saw Izumi standing by the open gate, a bento box in her hands. "Could..." Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground as she held up the bento. "Could you give this to Itachi-kun for me?"

"Of course!" Akemi accepted the bento. "Mmm," he noticed the box's aroma, "Sugar cookies? Itachi is going to love them!" He grinned, and the girl twirled one of her bangs shyly.

However, Akemi's stomach growled and Izumi started while the boy chuckled from embarrassment. "I guess I should eat before heading to work."

The girl's lips curved down and she seemed to ponder something before saying, "I…I don't really mind if you eat some of the cookies too."

"Really?" Akemi bowed. "Thanks, Izumi-chan!" He straightened up and moved to leave, but paused. "Oh, by the way, me and my friends are going to the festival on Saturday. If you want to join us, stop by my house ten minutes before five."

The boy left without hearing her response, grinning at the idea forming in his head while he ran down the stone path and scarfed down four of the buttery cookies.

Within minutes he arrived at his house and walked in, nearly calling a greeting when he noticed his mother's sandals weren't on the shoe mat. She must have ran to the store, though that didn't explain why Sasuke's shoes were still here. However, it made sense once he entered the living room.

Itachi was sitting at the low table reading a book about tanto wielding while Sasuke sat beside him, his little arms wrapped around Itachi's middle and head resting against his brother's side.

A click and flash made Itachi look up to see Akemi holding an instant camera while a picture rolled out of it. The younger twin grabbed the photo and waved it dry, gushing once he saw the image. " _Perfecto_! This is so going on my kawaii shrine!"

He turned the photo towards Itachi and the older twin smiled a little, seeing the camera had captured a moment when he was idly running his hand over Sasuke's hair while Sasuke snuggled against him.

"It is a good one." Itachi acknowledged as Akemi returned the camera to his satchel. "Are you home for lunch?"

Akemi shook his head. "Nope, I just came to get some plant samples from my garden." He frowned. "Today's the exam."

Itachi's expression softened. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"Yeah, sure..." Akemi didn't sound convinced as he stepped outside, passing the koi pond and going to the back of the house where a variety of plants sat in plots by the wall.

He went up to a wooden wagon in the middle of the yard and pulled on a pair of brown gardening gloves from there as well as picked up clippers. Then he bent down by his plot and started cutting off leaves, flowers, and berries from his plants. He even unearthed a sapling to snip off a piece of its roots.

Soon finished, Akemi set all the samples in small, labeled plastic bags, tucked them in his satchel, and went back inside his house. "Before I go," Akemi took out Izumi's bento and set it on the table by Itachi. "Izumi wanted me to give this to you."

Itachi opened the box, and Sasuke looked up, curious, but seeing the sugar cookies he stuck out his tongue in disgust. "No, bad food!" He hid his face in Itachi's side.

"Aww, come on, Sasukito." Akemi crouched beside him. "A little sugar is good for you." The toddler raised his face to glare at him, pouting, and Akemi chuckled.

"Fine, I just can't win against someone so cute!" He ruffled Sasuke's hair and stood, turning to Itachi. "Well, I gotta run." He winked. "I'll be sure to tell Izumi you loved her cookies."

Itachi blinked. "But I haven't tried them yet—"

Akemi was out of the house before he could finish, grinning to himself as he sped out onto the road and ignoring the slight pang in his stomach. He would eat once the exam was over.

The Uchiha quickly went to Konoha Hospital, slowing to a stop at a lab doorway where his grim-faced teacher stood with her arms crossed.

"Hi, Biwako-sama!" Akemi smiled.

"Akemi-kun," the medic-nin nodded, voice stern. "Have you brought the herbs?"

"Yep!" Akemi patted his satchel.

Biwako smirked viciously. "Then let the test begin." She turned and entered the room, Akemi following her.

All the lights inside were off except for the one above a blackboard in the back, which the medic-nin went to stand in front of.

"First," Biwako gestured at the long oak table in front of the board. "I want you to place the fourteen ingredients in the right category." She pointed at two white note cards on the table reading: **POISON** and **MEDICINE**.

Akemi brightened. "Oh, this is going to be easy—"

"You have twenty-six seconds starting now."

Akemi's eyes widened before he yanked open his satchel and dumped the bagged ingredients out on the table, some of his notebooks and pens falling out in his haste.

"Twenty-three, twenty-two, twenty-one..."

Akemi ignored the countdown, knowing the woman was just saying it to scare him, and focused on reading the kanji scrawled on each bag.

Areca nut palm caused cardiac arrest, aconite caused paralysis, and nightshade berries and ginkgo seeds could kill someone, but—

"Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..."

Marshmallow cured a bad cough, agrimony and burdock were used in healing paste, and galangal turned into tea. Or was he getting it mixed up with ginger?

"Five, four, three—"

"I'm done!" Akemi looked up with a grin.

Biwako cocked a brow. "Are you sure?" She pointed at the ginkgo seeds, which was sitting away from the other samples.

Akemi bit his lip. "Well, I know those are poisonous, but I was wondering if it's really okay to split all of these herbs into categories. I mean, nightshade berries will definitely kill you, but when it comes to plants like the gingko tree, its seeds might cause seizures, but its leaves are used in several medicines."

His eyes narrowed. "And technically most medicinal herbs can become a poison if they're used improperly...right?"

Biwako stared hard at him, and Akemi cowered at the mild killing intent leaking off of her, hastily waving his hands. "O-or I could just put these ginkgo seeds under the poison-"

"You pass."

"Huh, what?"

A small smile curved Biwako's lips. "I was hoping you'd argue about some part of the test, and you did in a very logical manner." Akemi looked confused, so she elaborated. "Sometimes a medic-nin will have to argue for one treatment over another and convince their peers it's the best method."

Akemi made a noise of understanding and the woman gestured toward the blackboard. "Now take a seat and pull out a piece of paper."

Akemi gathered his fallen pens from the floor and picked up his notebooks, putting what he didn't need back into his satchel.

"The test questions are on the blackboard, you will have half an hour to complete them while I check your samples."

She picked up the bags, examining each with a critical eye since Akemi had only gotten six of the herbs from his garden. The other plants he had to locate in the Konoha wilderness, as finding the correct plant and bringing back the required pieces was also part of this examination.

"Okay." Akemi sat in the chair at the table and carefully read the board.

The first section was about medical procedure and how it changed depending on if one was in a hospital versus out on a battlefield. The second part was matching medical terms with their definitions, and the final was explaining the effects of common medicines, and which poisons they counteracted.

The Uchiha felt confident he answered most of the questions correctly, though he completely blanked on a few terms. Still, the exam really wasn't so bad. Why had he ever been nervous? Hmm…maybe it was some residual college exam anxiety messing with his head.

"I'll give you your test results on Monday," Biwako told Akemi as he handed her his test.

"Great." He turned and moved to the door. "I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Actually," Akemi looked back, "You have the weekend off."

The Uchiha gaped, and the woman explained. "All hospital staff except for necessary personal have the weekend off."

Akemi's face scrunched with confusion. "Why?"

Biwako looked surprised. "Haven't you heard? The Hokage is finalizing the peace treaty with Kumo this weekend."

Akemi's eyes widened. A treaty with Kumo? That was _this_ weekend!?

Akemi remembered this happening in the anime, having dreamt of and sketched scenes from when the Kumo representative came to Konoha pretending to seek peace with the Village while in reality the Kumo-nin planned to kidnap Hinata for her Byakugan. But wasn't that supposed to happen on Hinata's third birthday? Yet the Hyuga heiress had turned two just a month ago, so what—

"Akemi-kun?" Biwako was frowning, and Akemi quickly shook his head.

"Sorry, sorry, I just remembered I'm running late for something." He turned and sprinted out the door. "Bye, Biwako-sama!"

The woman watched him leave, sensing something amiss, yet she quickly let it go. As the hospital head, Biwako wouldn't be getting the weekend off, and thus, had a full schedule ahead of her. Especially since she wanted to get her paperwork done early so she'd have time to stop by the Hokage's office and have a much needed _talk_ with her husband.

* * *

Akemi rushed down the path to the Uchiha compound, pausing only to create a shadow clone and sending him off to meet with Hana in the Inuzuka district.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, _muy estupido_! Akemi was a fool for assuming the Hyuga Incident wouldn't happen until the end of the year, never considering it might come earlier due to the changes he was making to the _Naruto_ timeline.

Though to be fair, all events so far like the Nine-Tails Attack had occurred on the same date they had in the anime. However, he should have known an event was bound to come at an unexpected time eventually.

Akemi opened himself up to the chakra signatures in the surrounding area while dodging around civilian Uchiha and children playing ninja in the streets. However, right as he located the signature he was looking for, the person stepped out of his house.

"Shisui-san?"

The older boy whipped towards him, surprise flashing across his face. "Wow, I was just—"

"—looking for you."

Akemi and Shisui blinked, both having said the same thing at the same time.

Shisui recovered first and frowned. "There's something important I need to tell you—"

"Wait," Akemi held up his hand, expression serious. "I also have something important to tell you...about one of those _events_ I need help setting up."

Shisui was taken aback. "You mean one of them is starting?"

Akemi's face turned grim. "No, I mean one of them has _already_ started." Shisui's eyes widened and Akemi lowered his head. "I was wrong, I assumed we had more time, and now we might be too late."

Shisui was startled for a moment, yet quickly composed himself. "Okay, let's talk somewhere more private."

Akemi looked up, grateful to have a friend like Shisui who was willing to drop everything to help him as the they sped to the private training grounds and stopped at the cliff overlooking the Naka River.

Akemi was about to explain the situation, but suddenly recalled what Shisui said.

"Oh," Shisui turned to him, "But what did you want tell me?"

Shisui frowned at the grass. "It's about your sharingan," Akemi was shocked, "I think I know why it acts strange."

Before Akemi could ask what he meant, Shisui shook his head. "We can talk about it later, what's happening is more important."

The younger Uchiha frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, okay." He tamped down on his curiosity and leveled a serious look on the older boy. "There's two things I want to make clear before I tell you anything."

Shisui straightened up at Akemi's severe tone, caught off guard by it.

"First, for your own safety I can't explain everything about this event, so if it feels like I'm lying or withholding information from you, that's probably exactly what I'm doing."

Shisui blinked at the bold claim.

"Second, I already have a plan for this event, one I've gone over and fixed up for years, and though it requires some adjusting due to the time crunch, I'm going to follow the plan whether you like it or not."

Shisui faltered at the look Akemi was giving him. It was as if the younger boy had suddenly aged, his stance radiating the confidence of someone far older than Shisui and tone resembling a teacher explaining a complex problem to a child.

The older Uchiha might have been offended, but knew Akemi wasn't the disrespectful type. Also, the seven-year old didn't sound like he was belittling him as he said, "That doesn't mean I'm not open to suggestions, it just means I'm going to do what I have to even if you disagree, understand?"

Shisui stared at the boy, still unnerved by the sheer maturity the seven-year old was displaying. Then again, it wasn't as if he hadn't heard the whispers among his clan.

Akemi knew too much, learned things a little _too_ fast. His eyes were bright, perhaps _too_ _bright_ , the adults said.

Shisui had dismissed such gossip because he knew people thought Itachi was strange too, saying he was too cold and reserved for a boy his age. Yet Shisui knew they were wrong, that Itachi wasn't cold so much as thoughtful, to the point he seemed to ignore others when really Itachi was just too busy thinking to notice the people around him.

Shisui thought Akemi was the same, but now he wondered if maybe there was a bit of truth to those whispers…

Akemi's face fell at the lack of a response, and he looked away. "I understand if you don't want to help me—"

"Of course I'll help you." Shisui grabbed Akemi's shoulders, startling him into looking up and seeing Shisui's determined expression. "I already said I would, and I don't go back on my word or abandon my friends."

Akemi's mouth parted in shock, but soon he smiled. "Thanks, Shisui-san. You're a real _amigo_."

Shisui grinned. "I have no idea what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment." He sobered. "Now, let's hear this plan of yours..."

* * *

Akemi entered the hospital, shunshined up the staircase before the receptionist could spot him, and stifled his chakra signature as he stopped on the second floor. He checked both sides of the hallway, and seeing it was empty, strode down the corridor. The Uchiha skirted past the receptionist desk, ducking into the restroom when a couple of doctors emerged from a patient's room.

Once their voices faded, Akemi reentered the hall and speed-walked until he stood in front of Orochimaru's lab.

Akemi knocked on the door and waited, every second passing unbearably slow while he constantly checked to make sure no one was coming his way.

Yet after a minute of silence, Akemi figured no one was in the lab, so tried turning the doorknob. He wasn't surprised when it didn't budge, remembering the door had a lock seal to keep out unwanted visitors. However, Akemi _wasn't_ an unwanted visitor, was he?

_"Keep the books, Akemi-kun, and if you ever seek more of them, my lab will always be open to you."_

Akemi's eyes narrowed. Orochimaru had said his lab would _always_ be open to him, and maybe it was just a hunch, but it sounded like the Sannin wasn't being figurative. Therefore, even if Orochimaru's lab was sealed, the man must have left a way for Akemi to get in.

The Uchiha glanced up at the ceiling, but saw no cameras. Hm, no way to watch a recording of the hand signs Orochimaru had used to unlock the door, and trying to guess the signs would take too long... So if it was impossible to learn the code, how else could he unlock the seal?

For a while nothing came to Akemi, yet he was certain Orochimaru truly wanted him to come back, so if the seal was impossible to break... Maybe...maybe Orochimaru didn't want him to break it?

It was a crazy idea, but the Sannin probably knew a kid still attending the Academy couldn't follow his rapid hand signs, and thus didn't expect him to unlock the seal...but to unlock the _door_.

The Uchiha figured it was worth a shot as he slipped out a kunai from his weapons pouch and pushed the pointed tip under the doorknob plate.

His eyes widened when the blade easily slid under the metal—was it already loose?—and he wedged the plate up until it popped off.

Akemi caught the knob before it could hit the ground and tucked it in his satchel. Then he used his fingers to pull on the hole where the knob had been until the door creaked open.

The boy didn't sense anything amiss as he stepped into the dark room, closing the door behind him, which meant his hunch was correct. Orochimaru had altered the lock seal so it would recognize Akemi and allow him entrance into his lab, perhaps by using his DNA...but that would require a blood sample and how would the Sannin get a hold of that?

The boy shuddered at the possibilities, yet brushed his concern aside while he flicked on the lights. He squinted at the now lit area, searching for traps. He didn't see any, and considered activating his sharingan to be sure, but didn't want to risk hurting himself with the unstable dōjutsu, so left it alone as he strode past the bare tabletops. All the flasks, jarred specimens and other lab equipment had been tucked away on cabinets lining the room. No documents or anything resembling a map were visible either.

Akemi scowled while he approached the bookshelf in the corner. Orochimaru leaving him access to the lab had proved the Snake Sannin hadn't forgotten about their second meeting, so it was reasonable to assume the man also remembered the books he'd given to Akemi too.

The boy pulled out the three books from his satchel, having brought them with him just in case they might provide a clue. Akemi had checked each book thoroughly when he first received them, but found nothing dangerous like seals or listening devices among their pages. However, now he examined the books again, noting their topic and titles.

He looked from them to the shelf and soon noticed a large space on the top and middle ledges where he'd taken the books from, causing the remaining tomes to tilt. The Uchiha patted the empty space, but didn't feel any hidden switches or seals. Though he also found no dust on the space either, which meant the bookshelf was cleaned recently. This furthered his belief that Orochimaru had left a clue on it.

Akemi glanced at the titles on the book spines and saw they were organized alphabetically. Still, that information didn't seem helpful, so he started pulling out every book and skimming through their pages.

He was pulling a textbook off the second ledge when a small book fell off the shelf and flopped on the floor, having been caught between the larger texts. Akemi picked the booklet up, but froze when he saw English letters on the cover—a translation book?

The Uchiha quickly tore open the booklet, flipping through the pages and gasping when a rectangular card fell out of it. He picked the white card up, but couldn't tell what it was before a voice spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

Akemi tensed, slipping the card into his sleeve as he stood and turned with an awkward smile.

"Oh, Kakashi-san, what's up?"

The masked sixteen-year old stared at him from across the room, arms folded and eye narrowed.

Akemi's smile twitched. "Uhh, you must have really improved your fūinjutsu to get past that lock seal—"

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi repeated, voice cold as he stalked towards him.

Akemi's mouth opened, closed, and opened again as he sighed in defeat. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He shrugged with a false casual tone. "I broke into Orochimaru's lab."

Kakashi's eye fluttered at his honesty. "But why?" He stared the boy down. "Don't you know what happens to people who hang around that guy?"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Akemi said emphatically, surprising the teen. "I'm looking for clues about my missing clansmen."

Kakashi's brow furrowed. "You should leave that up to the authorities, the Hokage is already looking into it."

Akemi scowled at the floor. "Yeah, but..."

Kakashi's tone softened slightly. "I know you're just trying to help, but if you go missing too, that will only make things worse." He grew stern again. "Now pack up, your investigation is over."

Akemi gathered his books like a sullen child, stuffing them back in his satchel while Kakashi grabbed his elbow and marched him out into the hall.

The teen flicked off the lights and shut the door before facing Akemi. "Give me the knob, I'll wipe your fingerprints off of it and put it back together so no one realizes you broke in."

Akemi retrieved the doorknob pieces and handed them over while a cheeky grin spread across his lips. "Aww, is someone worried about me?"

Kakashi glared. "I wonder what the head of the Police Force might think if he hears his son was breaking and entering."

Akemi laughed nervously. "Ah, look at the time, I should be getting home!" He quickly formed the tiger seal and shunshined through the hall, down the stairs and out of the building.

Only once the Hospital was out of sight did Akemi stop on the dirt road, smirking as he pulled out the card he'd taken. "This must be a clue—"

Akemi froze, gawking at the bookmark in his hand. Not a map or a coded message, but a _bookmark_...

The seven-year old's eye twitched while Shisui hopped down from a nearby tree. "Did you find it?"

Akemi slumped. "No, I just found a bookmark, but I thought for sure it would be a clue!" He groaned, slapping a hand over his face.

Shisui plucked the bookmark from his hand, turning it over. "Actually, I think you did."

"What?" Akemi peeked through his fingers.

"Look," Shisui showed him the back of the bookmark, which had a drawing of a dense forest surrounding a swamp. "I recognize this place, it's where my old jonin instructor used to take my team to practice tree climbing and water walking. It's on the outskirts of the Village."

Akemi brightened. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Shisui smirked. "Hold on." He gripped Akemi's shoulder and the boy knew what was coming, so braced himself as the older Uchiha shunshined and the world swirled into a mass of colors.

They arrived in a dense woodland within seconds, Akemi grasping his stomach and gulping down his nausea while Shisui watched in concern. "That's so weird," he cocked his head, "You can use shunshin without a problem, but when someone uses it on you, it makes you sick."

"I'm... _sensitive_ to other people's jutsu." Akemi explained, straightening up. Yet he stiffened suddenly and spun towards Shisui. "Hide!"

Shisui immediately flipped up into a tree, crouching behind its trunk, while Akemi stared straight ahead to where he sensed a chakra signature nearby a tall, mossy rock. Or, what looked like a rock until it flickered and the henge over it faded to reveal a thick iron door imbedded in the stone, a slithering snake image carved into the metal.

The door was opening and Akemi flicked out two kunai, holding them in front of himself as the door stilled. He peered past it to see a cavern, lowering his kunai once he saw no one at the entrance.

Akemi cautiously approached the cave and gazed at the staircase inside, which was lit by dim torches along the wall. The cavern smelled like damp soil after a rainstorm, which while not a pleasant scent, wasn't a poisonous one either.

The Uchiha put away his weapons, but hesitated, looking at Shisui's hiding spot and making sure the boy was well-hidden before facing the cavern. He took a deep breath, telling himself this was necessary to protect his precious people and the clan as he carefully stepped in and walked down the steep incline, nearly tripping when a loud clank echoed behind him. He turned to see the door closing, shutting out the sunlight and leaving him in near total darkness.

The Uchiha frowned, but turned and kept moving. Soon reaching the bottom, he shivered at the drafty atmosphere while peering ahead. The hallway led to two other corridors, one going left and one going right. Yet Akemi knew where to go. He sensed that ghastly chakra.

Akemi trudged ahead and turned into the left hall. He tensed at hearing what sounded like a low hiss, but told himself it was just a broken pipe in the ceiling while he walked past a number of rooms, his eyes locked on the door at the end of the corridor.

The Uchiha slowed when said door opened before he reached it, but wasn't shocked to see the man inside the room, standing under a lone overhead light with his back to Akemi as he looked down at something on a stone table.

Akemi paused in the entrance. "Orochimaru-san."

The Snake Sannin turned over his shoulder, his sharp teeth showing through his smirk as he said, "Akemi-kun." He waved him in, pale hand flecked with a dark substance Akemi pretended not to see. "I was starting to worry you would never come."

Akemi forced his features to remain neutral as he stepped into the laboratory. "Well, you didn't exactly make it easy to find this place." He examined the tall shelves lining the sides of the room, which held scrolls and jars of colorful substances.

"And yet here you are," Orochimaru's smile grew, yellow orbs bright with excitement, "You passed every test, like I knew you could."

Akemi frowned, eyeing the man. "How do you know I did?" He crossed his arms. "Maybe I found this place by accident."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Perhaps, but the seal on my laboratory door alerted me of a break-in thirty minutes ago, and I know it was you," he cut in before Akemi could make up an excuse, "Because it's only set to alert me if someone with the books I gifted you entered."

Akemi's eyes widened. Oh, so it had been the books, not his DNA that allowed him to get past lock seal.

Orochimaru was watching him intently, making Akemi's skin crawl, so the boy huffed to cover his fear. "Okay, you got me." His face hardened. "Now let's get to the point, I came here for something."

"You want something from me?" Orochimaru asked, his tongue peeking out in excitement. "Now, that is interesting."

"I need your help." Akemi's eyes fell to the floor, hating how this was his only option. "And I need it soon."

For a moment the Sannin was quiet, but then he said, "It must be something bad according to the guilt on your face."

Akemi winced, peeking up. "Well, it's not bad, so much as illegal—"

"And you think I would help you commit a crime?"

The Uchiha sent him a deadpan look. "You have a _secret_ lab in the middle of the forest."

Orochimaru hummed. "A fair point," his gaze turned calculative, "So if you've come to this lab of mines, is it safe to assume you want something from here?"

"That depends," Akemi's voice dropped to a hiss, "Is this where you're keeping the sharingan you've stole?"

"Some of them." Orochimaru shrugged as if he didn't just admit to Kekkei Genkai theft. "And since you're clearly not here to arrest me," his grin turned wicked, "Why are you asking about them?"

Akemi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Because I need one of them." He opened his eyes, pulling a notecard from his satchel. "And the sharingan has to fit these parameters."

Orochimaru took the notecard, reading it aloud. "A right eye from a male in his late-teens to early twenties." He lowered the card, looking up in contemplation. "I do believe I have a few matching those requirements." He smirked at the child. "But what do you need such an eye for?"

Akemi shook his head. "I don't need it." His head lowered so his bang shadowed his face. "I need you to transfer that eye into the Kumo ninja coming for the peace treaty."

"Oh?" The Sannin seemed genuinely surprised. "And why would you want me to give a foreign ninja one of your clan's dōjutsu?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that Kumo-nin already has a sharingan." The Sannin raised a brow, not expecting that answer. "But he wouldn't dare come to Konoha with a stolen dōjutsu, not when he knows an Uchiha might sense it."

"And how do you know he—"

"Because he's the man who caused the Nine-Tails Attack," Akemi stated fiercely, and before Orochimaru could ask, continued. "I'm not one hundred percent sure it was him, and I won't be until I can read his chakra signature when he gets here, but...while I was looking at his picture in the newspaper..."

Akemi's hands curled around the strap of his satchel and his teeth clenched. "I noticed he was wearing his headband over his right eye, just like my friend Kakashi wears his headband over his eye...to cover up his sharingan." His eyes implored Orochimaru. "And I remember Biwako-sama mentioning that the man who attacked her and the Fourth Hokage had _one_ sharingan."

Orochimaru stared at him, expression blank. Akemi tried not to sweat, praying his half-truth worked—because if all went according to plan he'd tell the Hokage the same story so it needed to be believable.

"Well," the Sannin's gaze bored into the boy's, "I must say, you're even astuter than I thought, Akemi-kun."

The Uchiha waited with bated breath as the man smirked. "I'll do it."

Akemi was speechless for a second, but then he asked, "R-really?"

Orochimaru nodded and Akemi wanted to slump in relief, but couldn't let his guard down just yet. "And that's it?" His eyes narrowed. "You're just going to do it...without asking for something in return?"

The man cocked his head as if confused. "Ask for something?" He shrugged. "I believe the job itself is payment enough. After all, I'm going to have to break into the Kumo shinobi's hotel room, undetected by him or his ANBU guards, knock him out long enough to perform the surgery, and use the right anesthesia to make him forget I was ever there." He grinned. "Sounds more thrilling than most missions I'm assigned these days."

Akemi was skeptical, but not wanting to push the issue, nodded. "Yes, and you have to complete the surgery by Saturday night since he leaves on Monday."

"Like I said, I don't mind a challenge," Orochimaru said nonchalantly.

"Then we have a deal." Akemi turned to leave when something cold slithered around his wrist.

"Actually, there is one thing."

Akemi bit down a scream, not moving a muscle as Orochimaru came up behind him. "Yes?" He asked, refusing to look anywhere but ahead.

The Sannin bent down until his mouth hovered over Akemi's shoulder and the Uchiha's neck itched with imagined pain of a curse seal as the man said, "All I want is for you to promise me this."

The Sannin's hand fell on the boy's hair and Akemi could hear the smirk in his voice as he whispered. "Grow strong for me, Akemi-kun."

The Uchiha's eyes widened as the man pulled back, the snake summon around Akemi's wrist retracting back to Orochimaru's sleeve while the boy slowly turned around.

 _He knows, he knows… He knows_ ** _everything_** _!_ The thought drummed in Akemi's brain as he nodded, unable to find the breath to verbally agree. However, that seemed to be enough for the man because Orochimaru turned back to the scroll on the stone table and Akemi fled.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he ran down the hall, feet slapping against the staircase until he reached the iron door and shoved it with all his might, bursting out the cave the second he saw sunlight.

 _He knows_ , _he knows, he knows,_ a voice screamed in his head while Akemi sucked in a deep breath, having refused to breathe until he made it outside. He kept inhaling and exhaling until he didn't feel like he was on the verge of an anxiety attack and the screaming in his head dimmed. Akemi was sure it was just paranoia making him think Orochimaru knew anything about him being from another world, but a part of him wondered if maybe Orochimaru at least realized he wasn't a normal seven-year old.

"Hey—"

Akemi flicked out a kunai and tossed it at Shisui without thinking.

The older boy quickly threw himself aside while Akemi blinked, and realizing what he'd done, gasped. "I-I'm sorry, Shisui!" His hands slapped over his mouth. "Are you okay!?"

"I should be asking you that," Shisui rose from his crouch, unharmed. "Are you alright? Did Orochimaru do something?" His expression darkened. "I swear if he—"

Akemi shook his head. "No, no, I just…it was cold down there." He rubbed his wrist where the snake had curled around him. "Anyway, the event is a go."

Shisui looked stunned. "Wait, your crazy plan actually worked!?"

Akemi's expression soured. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

Shisui rubbed the back of his head, grinning. "Uhh, no reason."

Akemi's cheeks puffed and the older boy laughed. "You're even easier to rile up than Itachi." He slung his arm around Akemi's shoulders. "But seriously, I knew you could do it."

Akemi's expression softened. "Thanks, Shisui." He frowned. "I just wish I had asked for your help sooner, maybe then…"

Shisui gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, I got a good feeling about this event." Akemi looked up in interest. "'Cause you got me in your corner," he grinned wide, "And you can't get luckier than that."

Akemi sputtered a laugh. "You're silly, Shisui-san."

The older boy looked affronted. "But I'm serious, I am good luck!"

Akemi rolled his eyes, mirth lightening the anxiety in his chest, probably just like the older boy intended. Yet he wondered if this time could really be different? Could he change the future without a single loss of life?

Maybe...

* * *

Itachi slid open the door to his house, panting slightly and clothes damp with sweat. He'd just finished sparring with Shisui, and as usual the older boy had pushed him to his limits. Now he was home to clean-up and grab something to eat before heading back out for more personal training.

The seven-year old entered the downstairs restroom, washed his face, and came out right as Akemi was passing through the living room.

"Hey!" Akemi stopped and beamed. "You're home just in time!" He held out his arms. "How do I look?"

Itachi examined his twin's high-collar black jacket and silky, light green scarf. He smiled a little. "You look cozy. Are you going somewhere?"

"Yup, I'm heading to the Peace Festival," Akemi glanced at the genkan, "Just waiting for my friend to stop by first."

Itachi nodded and turned towards the kitchen when his brother asked, "Do you want to come with us?"

The older twin shook his head. "I'm doing more training with Shisui tonight." It was a lie, he'd be training alone, but Akemi always looked upset whenever he admitted to training by himself, so sometimes Itachi would claim to have a training partner if only to assure his twin.

Akemi frowned despite Itachi's efforts. "I see."

The eldest, figuring the conversation was over, took one step away before Akemi asked, "Do you remember when Minato-sama was nominated as the Hokage?"

The older twin turned back, recalling a vague memory of being four-years old and hiding behind a door while a couple of Uchiha elders visited his father's office. They were complaining about Fugaku not being nominated for the Hokage position while that "clanless Namikaze boy" was.

"Yes," Itachi answered, confused by the subject.

Akemi, brow furrowing, asked, "And do you remember how Orochimaru was nominated too?"

Itachi nodded and Akemi took a step towards him. "Minato-sama was a genius ninja and very powerful. He earned quite the reputation for his efforts during the war." Akemi looked sad as he remembered the man, but soon moved on. "Orochimaru is also a genius and very powerful. He even holds the title as one of the Legendary Sannin for his feats during the Second War."

Akemi's eyes narrowed. "So tell me, Nii-san, why was Minato picked over Orochimaru?"

Itachi blinked, having never pondered such a thing. However, it was a good question considering Itachi wanted to be the Hokage one day. Therefore, the Uchiha thought hard about it before saying, "Well, Orochimaru must have had an undesirable trait that Minato didn't have, making Minato-sama the better choice."

Akemi grinned. "Yes, that is one way of putting it." His smile dropped. "Or, you could say Minato had something that Orochimaru didn't. But what was that something?"

Itachi's forehead scrunched up. It couldn't have been a ninja skill since their abilities were so similar, meaning it was something that didn't deal with ninjutsu... Yet what else beside strength and ability could determine whether one would be named Hokage?

Itachi was stumped and Akemi saw this so smiled sadly. "Think of Minato-sama, of the way he acted and how he always listened to us even though we were just kids. He was nice, remember?"

"Hai." Itachi remembered the man's kindness, and how even as Hokage, Minato always greeted people with a smile.

"Now," the nostalgia faded from Akemi's expression, "How do you remember Orochimaru acting?"

Itachi frowned, recalling the man's impassive expression during the funeral for all who died during the Third Shinobi War and how he left without acknowledging anyone until Itachi asked him about death.

"He's not very friendly," Itachi answered slowly, the pieces coming together in his head. "Minato-sama was always kind, but Orochimaru—"

"Doesn't have friends." Itachi looked up as Akemi sighed. "He's a great ninja, but when it was time to pick the Fourth Hokage, he didn't have anyone who wanted to support him. On the other hand, Minato had Kushina, his teammates, comrades, and friends backing him."

Akemi's eyes welled up with sadness as the realization slammed into Itachi. "Nii-san...you don't have a lot of friends."

Itachi's eyes widened, but he didn't say a word, _couldn't_. He was speechless with shock.

Akemi reached over to grab his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You don't mean to, but you make it very hard to be your friend." Itachi's face twitched, but Akemi quickly assured. "I know you're actually very nice and sweet and the best big brother in the world."

He looked down. "But the way you act, always so lost in your thoughts, it can be off-putting to people who don't really know you."

Itachi felt something splinter in his mind, saw his dream of becoming Hokage fracture. It didn't matter how much he worked and trained for his goal, it was impossib—

"I'm telling you this now," Akemi's voice drew Itachi from his thoughts, "Because you still have time." His features softened. "You're only seven, and the Third isn't even looking for an heir yet."

Itachi shook his head. "Even so, I'm not sure I can change—"

"I'm not asking you to change," Akemi smiled gently, "Or telling you there's anything wrong with being introverted." He snickered briefly. "I mean, everyone in this house is some type of introvert."

Itachi was puzzled by the term, and Akemi noticed, so said, "I'm saying everyone here spends more time in their head rather than outwardly expressing their self."

Itachi made a soft sound of understanding and Akemi continued. "Anyway, all I'm saying is that you could try reaching out a little more. If you want to be Hokage, you have to become more aware of other people."

Itachi frowned at the floor. "But how?"

"You could start small, like hanging out more with people you already know." Akemi squinted, thinking hard before he broke out in a grin. "I got it!"

Itachi felt trepidation as Akemi asked, "Why don't you invite your teammates to the Festival tomorrow?"

A protest immediately formed on Itachi's tongue—Shinko might be busy and Tenma didn't like him—but Akemi added. "You can take Sasuke too! That way if your teammates start bothering you or you get tired of talking to them, Sasuke can be your excuse to leave."

Itachi frowned. "I..."

Akemi's face fell. "If it helps, consider it Hokage training."

Itachi looked aside. "I'll think about it."

" _Estupendo_!" Akemi beamed and patted his back. "I knew you could do it."

Itachi was going to point out he hadn't agreed yet when a knock resounded from outside the house. Akemi quickly ran to the door and Itachi heard it open as his brother said, "Izumi-chan, come in, I don't want you to wait in the cold."

Akemi returned to the living room, dragging a red-faced Izumi behind him.

"I-Itachi-kun!?" Izumi's blush deepened as Akemi left her in front of his brother.

"I just got to grab my wallet, wait right here!" Akemi called as he ran up the steps, leaving the girl by his surprised brother.

For a second the two just stared at each other, but soon Izumi's eyes fell to the floor. "It's n-nice to see you again, Itachi-kun." She twirled her hair nervously. "I mean, I still see you walk past my house sometimes..." She froze, and then waved her hands frantically. "Not that I watch you or anything!"

Itachi blinked at her odd behavior, but nodded. "It's nice to see you too." He suddenly recalled the gift she'd sent over. "And thank you for the cookies, they were good."

Izumi looked up with shimmering eyes. "You liked them?" Her blush faded as a warm smile came over her face.

"Of course, I told you he did." Akemi appeared in the doorway, Itachi having noticed him slipping in a minute ago while Izumi nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight.

"Well, we can go now." Akemi walked past Izumi, waving towards the door. "Don't want to be late."

"Oh, uh, yes." Izumi stammered, following his lead. Though she stopped in the genkan and turned to her former schoolmate. "Bye, Itachi-kun!"

Itachi waved back, feeling strangely lighter, but the feeling soon passed as he pondered his twin's advice.

He was still thinking about it the next morning, weighed down by indecisiveness as he stood with his teammates on the side of Konoha's main road. Every shinobi from genin to jonin were crowding both sides of the road, many clapping and some cheering while the Head Ninja of Kumo walked through the middle alongside the Hokage, a welcoming smile on his face.

Itachi respectfully clapped, barely hearing the Hokage's speech about the peace treaty while his indecision plagued him.

However, once the crowds started to disperse, the genin being the first permitted to leave, Itachi came to a decision.

As soon as his jonin instructor concluded their training in the field, Itachi asked, "Do you want to attend the festival with me?"

Tenma dropped his kunai, jaw dropping, and Shinko's eyes doubled in size.

Itachi frowned when neither responded, and he was about to retract his invitation when a high-pitched squeal erupted from Shinko.

The girl clapped her hands over her chest. "Finally! I knew you'd open up to us eventually, didn't I tell you Tenma? Didn't I?"

Tenma blinked owlishly at her before turning back to Itachi like the seven-year old had grown a second head.

Itachi glanced between the two. "Does this mean you'll join me?"

Tenma finally regained his voice and scoffed. "Yeah, right, I've got better things to—"

Shinko elbowed Tenma in the gut without looking away from Itachi. "Of course we will!" She grinned while Tenma wheezed and clutched his abdomen.

Itachi looked uncertainly at Tenma, but figured the boy could always just not show up if he really didn't want to come. "We can go at six, after my otouto's afternoon nap since I'm bringing him too."

"You have a little brother!?" Shinko looked thrilled and Itachi was starting to see Akemi's point about him being too reserved.

Because when he held up two fingers and said, "I have two younger brothers," Shinko and Tenma looked ready to faint. However, it also ensured both would join him tonight, Shinko eager to meet another "cutie" while even Tenma seemed reluctantly interested in Itachi's family.

The Uchiha sighed as he left the training field, silently hoping he wouldn’t regret his choice tonight.

* * *

In the shadows under a dense foliage the crescent moon’s light couldn’t pierce, Akemi laid on a high tree branch, staring down at the two Hyuga guards standing in front of their clan's district gates. The Uchiha's chakra was tightly wound inside him, making his signature near undetectable to all except perhaps a fellow sensor-nin.

However, these were Hyuga he was dealing with. One wrong move or too loud a sound and the guards would activate their Byakugan, and even under the shadows of night Akemi couldn't hide from such eyes.

That was why he was shocked when the radio clipped to his side crackled and Shisui's voice spoke into his earpiece. "The Kumo-nin just slipped past the guards on the west side."

Akemi swallowed down his fear, realizing there was no turning back now as he clicked the radio button and said, "I'm on my way."

Akemi shunshined from the tree branch to the district's left wall, standing on top of it and looking down to see Shisui already in the district with two Hyuga guards sprawled at his feet.

The younger boy hopped down next to Shisui, mouth drawn to a line. "Did you get them with a genjutsu?"

"Yup," Shisui smirked. "And I was henged as the Kumo-nin when I did, so they'll think he used his sharingan on them."

"Good," Akemi whispered as he made the ram seal and quickly spread out his senses across the district until he latched onto the only non-Konoha chakra signature in the area. "I found him."

Shisui nodded, growing serious as Akemi took off his radio, leapt onto the nearest rooftop and ran. His mind was blank as he sprang over alleys and yards, the Uchiha solely focused on that ominous foreign aura until he saw the Kumo-nin rounding a corner, a small bundle under his arm.

Akemi didn't hesitate to jump down in front of the man. The foreign ninja stopped, seeming surprised even with the black mask over his face. However, he quickly pulled out a kunai and was posed to throw it at Akemi when Shisui came raining down from above, his foot slamming into the back of the man's head.

The Kumo-nin fell forward with a grunt while Akemi created three shadow clones who swiftly tackled him to the floor.

"Let's move!" Akemi told Shisui, both of them leaping back onto the rooftops while the Kumo-nin threw off the clone holding down his arm and stabbed the second clone on his legs with a kunai, popping the two out of existence.

The last clone, however, was nowhere to be seen and the Kumo shinobi was puzzled as he stood and looked down—

And the Akemi clone tucked under his arm flashed his teeth at him. "Huh, for the Head Ninja of Kumo, I was expecting more, you know?"

The man immediately dropped the clone and stomped on the back of the Akemi's neck, destroying him before he launched up onto the rooftops. Quickly his eye fell on the two Uchiha running in the distance and the man growled as he hastened after them.

* * *

Shisui glanced worriedly down at Hinata, who was crying in his arms while he ran. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he tried to soothe the toddler as he and Akemi dropped down into an alleyway, the younger boy flaring his chakra up and down to attract attention.

However, Akemi flinched when a Hyuga suddenly appeared right in front of him, having moved faster than his eyes could follow.

“What are you doing with Hinata-sama?"

Hizashi, veins bulging around his activated Byakugan, loomed over the younger Uchiha. Though soon he faltered, recognizing the boy. "Fugaku's…son?"

Akemi nodded rapidly. "Yes, I can't explain, but there was a man trying to kidnap Hinata."

Hizashi was shocked, looking from the boy's earnest expression to Shisui who was gently rocking the girl in his arms and whispering soothing nothings in her ear. He quickly understood. "You saved her." He frowned. "But how did you know she was in troubl—"

The Kumo-nin appeared behind Hizashi in a whirl of wind, kunai speeding towards the Hyuga's jugular.

"No!" Akemi threw a kunai with all his might, his blade soaring past Hizashi's neck to clash with the foreign man's kunai.

The force knocked the Kumo-nin's fist off course, granting Hizashi time to spin back, raise his hand in a classic Gentle Fist position and strike the man's chest.

Blood splattered through the air and the Kumo shinobi immediately fell back, lifeless.

Akemi flinched, having hoped to capture the man alive, but recognizing there was no other option, he forced his eyes away from the Kumo-nin's body. "Hizashi-san, that's the guy who…" He stopped, noticing Hizashi's arms falling limply to his sides and his back hunching.

Concerned, Akemi stepped forward. "Hizash—"

The Hyuga teetered and Akemi rushed to catch the man as he fell, only to crumple under Hizashi's weight, his body simply too small to withstand it. "Hizashi!?" Akemi landed on his knees, pulling the man's head onto his lap while his pale eyes blinked sluggishly.

"Oh, no…" Shisui gasped and Akemi followed his gaze to Hizashi's side where a dark spot was rapidly spreading across his yukata. It hit him then that his kunai hadn't stopped the Kumo-nin's blade, it had simply lowered its trajectory.

"Hold on." Akemi pressed his hands against the wound, hissing an apology when Hizashi groaned while he applied pressure. 

However, the blood continued to run over Akemi's too small hands, the cut perhaps wider than he could cover and the boy’s heartbeat quickened.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Akemi flared his chakra as high as he could, not even hearing Shisui's concerned question or seeing the older boy walk over to remove the Kumo-nin's mask.

Akemi saw nothing except for the dark liquid coating his fingers and the body getting colder and colder beneath his touch until Hiashi lowered himself beside him. Only then did Akemi realize he was trembling as his voice shook when he begged. "Help him, please."

A green glow erupted before his eyes, and someone gently pulled Akemi's blood-soaked hands away from the body— _corpse_ —while Fugaku came to stand over him, stern features lightened by his confusion as he asked, "What happened?"

Akemi opened his mouth to speak, yet what came out wasn't an explanation, but a sob. Fugaku jerked back, stunned as tears streamed down Akemi's face. The seven-year old hadn't meant to cry, but he couldn't help it. Everything was going wrong and he'd been so stupid—

Two arms wound around Akemi's back and pulled him into an embrace. "It's not your fault," Shisui murmured over him, yet Akemi shook his head because Shisui was wrong, so terribly _wrong_. 

Akemi had messed up again, and now Hizashi was dead, the Kumo-nin was dead, and Minato and Rin and so many others were dead, dead, _dead_ because Akemi couldn't change anything!

Akemi cried into Shisui's shoulder, not even fighting the tears anymore because it wouldn't be long before the older boy was nothing more than a ghost, his dear brother, a murderer, and the Uchiha district, a grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter is extra long so maybe that makes up for it a little? 😅  
> Anyway, thanks so much for all your comments and support! It's always nice hearing people enjoy my stories 😊
> 
> Next time: Hiashi demands answers and the Hokage deals with the fallout...
> 
> Stay safe, everyone!


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